Benjamin Dutch "Ben" Stevenson (born March 16, 1995) is an American
water polo
Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...
player. He was a part of Team USA at the 2018 FINA World Cup, where the team finished in sixth place. Stevenson plays Attacker. He is also a graduate of University of the Pacific. He competed in the
2020 Summer Olympics
The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
.
Early life
Benjamin Dutch Stevenson was born on March 16, 1995, in Reno, Nevada. He is the son of Marshall and Paige Stevenson. Stevenson attended
Reno High School
Reno High School (RHS) is a public secondary school in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is a part of the Washoe County School District. The school's teams are known as the Reno Huskies, and the school colors are red and blue.
History
Reno High wa ...
Henderson, Nevada
Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the List of cities in Nevada, 2nd most populous city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with 317,610 residents. The city is part of the Las Vegas V ...
.
College career
Stevenson attended university at University of the Pacific and graduated in 2017 with a degree in business. He was teammates with
Balázs Erdélyi
Balázs Erdélyi (born 16 February 1990) is a water polo player from Hungary. He was part of the Hungarian team at the 2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded a ...
and
Alex Obert
Alexander "Alex" Obert ( ; born December 18, 1991) was born in Loomis, CA and is an American water polo player. He was a part of Team USA at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where the team finished in tenth place. Obert plays Center and is also curre ...
.
2013 Freshman
On September 7 at Chris Kjeldsen Pool, in a 19–7 win over the
Santa Clara Broncos
The Santa Clara Broncos are athletic teams that represent Santa Clara University. The school colors are red and white. The nicknames for teams is The Broncos and the student fans are referred to as the "Ruff Riders". The Broncos compete in the ...
, Stevenson scored his first goal in his first regular season game. In 28 games Stevenson scored 15 goals. He recorded two multi-goal games in the MPSF Semi-finals against USC and Navy.
2014 Sophomore
On September 6 and 7 at the Triton Invitational, in wins over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Air Force, Stevenson set and tied a then career-high by scoring four goals in a single game. On September 20 at the Kap7 NorCal Classic, in a win over number 11 ranked UC Davis, he registered his first five-goal game. On September 14 against number 10 ranked UC Davis and October 3 against number three ranked Cal, he registered additional four-goal games. On September 26 and 27 at the Aggie Shootout, against Cal Baptist and Cal Lutheran, he also turned in hat tricks as well as another on November 8 against number one ranked UCLA. On October 7, in an 8–7 overtime win over number six ranked UC Santa Barbara, he scored the game-winner. In 26 games, Stevenson led the team with 54 goals, averaging 2.08 goals per game. He scored a goal in every game except for two and also had 16 multi-goal games. He was named to both the MPSF and ACWPC All-Academic teams. After the season, he was named an All-American and was also named Honorable Mention All-MPSF. Over the summer from June 4 to 8 in California, in a four-game series against the Serbian National Team, Stevenson participated with the US Men's National Team.
2015 Junior
On September 12 against Iona, October 4 against number seven ranked UC Santa Barbara, October 10 against number four ranked California, and October 17 against number seven ranked UC Irvine, Stevenson tallied four games where he scored at least four goals. He would add eight other hat tricks on the season. On October 11 against number six ranked UC Santa Barbara, Stevenson scored three goals with three assists. Defensively, Stevenson recorded 36 steals. In 28 games, Stevenson scored a team-leading 58 goals and also had 31 assists. He finished sixth in MPSF with 2.07 goals per game. He scored in every game except for four and also had 18 multi-goal games. For his performance, he was named ACWPC Second Team All-American, Second Team All-MPSF, and was also named to the MPSF All-Academic Team.
2016 Senior
Stevenson decided to redshirt the 2016 season and return for 2017 as a redshirt senior.
2017 Redshirt Senior
On September 2 against Wagner, he had a season-high four assists. On September 17 against San Jose State, September 24 against number six ranked Long Beach State, November 10 against San Jose State, and November 11 against number eight ranked UC Davis, he registered four goals. On November 19 against number seven ranked UC Irvine, he tallied a season-high five steals. Stevenson played in all 27 matches for the Tigers, finishing the season scoring 47 goals along with 42 assists and a total of 89 points. He finished second on the team with 46 steals and ranked in the top five in the conference in points per game (3.30), assists per game (1.56), and steals per game (1.70). He scored a goal in every game except for four and had six hat tricks on the season. After the season he was named an ACWPC All-American. He was also named to the All-Golden Coast Conference Second Team, All-GCC Tournament Team, and earned All-GCC Academic honors.
Professional career
He is currently a member of the Greek water polo club
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of the mos ...
. Previous clubs in his career include: University of the Pacific,
Sydney Uni Water Polo Club
Sydney Uni Lions is an Australian club water polo team that competes in the National Water Polo League. They have a men's team and a women's team and are based in Sydney.
General information
The club's colours are blue and gold, and their majo ...
, Navarra,
CE Mediterrani
Club Esportiu Mediterrani is a sports club founded in 1931 by a group of sports enthusiasts in particular Swimming, who frequented the beach of Barceloneta and the swimming baths located in the delightful seaside neighborhood of Barcelona. They p ...
,
Glyfada
Glyfada (, ) is a town and a suburb in the South Athens regional unit located in the Athens Riviera along the coast of Saronic Gulf. It is situated in the southern parts of the Athens#Athens Urban Area, Athens urban area. The area stretches from ...
,
Olympic Nice
Olympic Nice Natation is a French water polo and swimming club from Nice, founded in 1989.
Its men's team won eight national championships in a row between 1997 and 2004, while its women's team has been successful in recent years, with four cham ...