ORANGE COUNTY BOYS ATHLETE OF THE YEAR 2023-24
JSerra senior water polo player Ryder Dodd practices at the school in San Juan Capistrano, CA on Wednesday, August 30, 2023. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Name: Ryder Dodd
School: JSerra
Year: Senior
Sport: Water polo
Notable highlights: Ryder Dodd scored 103 goals to lead JSerra to CIF Southern Section and CIF Southern California Regional championships in the highest divisions.
The Lions finished the season 30-0, the first Orange County boys water polo team to go undefeated in 11 years.
Dodd scored a season-high 10 goals in JSerra’s 14-10 overtime win over Newport Harbor in the CIF Southern California Regional Division I championship game. He scored three of the Lions’ four overtime-period goals.
He scored five goals the previous week when JSerra beat Newport Harbor 16-10 in the CIF-SS Open Division championship game.
And just a few days earlier he was the leading scorer on the Team USA men’s water polo team that won gold at the Pan American Games and qualified for this summer’s Olympics in Paris. Dodd is a leading candidate to be on the USA roster that will be announced next week.
Dodd, who also had 31 assists and 42 steals for JSerra this past fall, was named the Orange County boys water polo player of the year, Trinity League male athlete of the year and Orange County Athletic Directors Association male athlete of the year.
JSerra boys water polo coach Brett Ormsby, himself a former water polo Olympian, said Dodd’s success comes from more than talent.
“Ryder absolutely loves to compete and he’s a ruthless competitor,” Ormsby said. “He also excels at the mental side of the game. He loves water polo, he loves to study tape and he only needs to see something once to commit it to memory.”
Water polo has taken Dodd to various parts of the world and likely will continue to do so. His senior year at JSerra, he said, forever will be among his favorite experiences.
“I’ll always remember the times at tournaments with my friends, being able to spend time with them,” he said. “When we were together we were just cherishing those moments.”
Dodd signed with UCLA.
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