Benson announces stellar 2021 class

FRESNO, Calif. – Four future Bulldogs – Casey Barragan, Liana Hunt, Fanni Muzsnay and Brooke Ochoa – signed National Letters of Intent to join the Fresno State women's water polo program, head coach Natalie Benson officially announced on Thursday.

"We are proud to announce our signing class for the fall of 2021," Benson said. "As individuals, this group is exciting. They each bring something to the team that will help us become better culturally and competitively. That being said, all of these tremendous young women coming in one class is incredible."

Barragan (Commerce, Calif.), Hunt (Woodland Hills, Calif.) and Ochoa (Carlsbad, Calif.) are three accomplished California high school stars, while Muzsnay (Budapest, Hungary) is an international standout with experience on the Hungarian National Team.

All four recruits have already demonstrated an innate ability to score, defend and compete at a high level in their water polo playing careers, which includes winning national, state and league championships.

"They are talented, hungry, and fully understand who we are, and what we want to accomplish," Benson said of the class. "I see the balance they bring from a skill set perspective, and they are able to fill our competitive gaps in order to make our one-goal losses turn into one-goal victories. Each of our new Bulldogs have quality competitive experiences, and have shown that they are winners through the way they play our game."

The collective group's scoring prowess, aggressiveness and tenacious drive to excel in and out of the pool continues to solidify Benson's rising program, which was ranked 11th in the nation in the final Collegiate Water Polo Association 2020 Women's Varsity Top 25 poll on March 18.

Quotes from Natalie Benson on 2021 Recruiting Class

Brooke Ochoa – Utility
Carlsbad, CA – Carlsbad High School – San Diego Shores
"Brooke is an extremely talented water polo player with physical abilities that will contribute to our team immediately. She has a versatile skill set from perimeter shooting, to posting up in the center position, to her vision on cross court passes. She has a natural flow with our game, and will be a big contributor for us during her tenure at Fresno State."

Ochoa was named to the 2020 First-Team All-CIF, 2020 First-Team All-CIF and County Teams. She is a two-time CIF Open Division Runner-up (2019 & 2020) and a two-time Avocado West Second Team (2019 & 2020). Ochoa's team won the 2018 CIF Open Division championship. She scored 96 goals and had 76 assists and 110 steals in three seasons playing for Carlsbad High School.

Casey Barragan- Center
Commerce, CA - La Serna High School – Commerce Aquatics
"Casey is a dominant presence in the center position, and has all of the physical tools necessary to become one of the best at the collegiate level. She has tremendous hands, and understands leverage well. Casey is no stranger to hard work, and has many tournaments of high-level experience under her belt. Casey is a big addition to this class, and we are excited to get to work with her."

Barragan was the 2019-20 CIF-SS Division IV Player of the Year, the 2018-19 Del Rio League Most Valuable Player and the 2018-19 La Serna High School Most Valuable Player. She helped lead her high school to become 2019-20 CIF Division IV Champions and scored over 100 goals each season of high school from 2018-20 while averaging four goals per game with a career single-game high of nine goals.

Liana Hunt – Left-Handed Attacker
Woodland Hills, CA – Agoura High School – South Coast Aquatics
"As a left handed attacker, Liana brings balance to this class. Liana has a great ability to see openings in the cage, and does not hesitate to pull the trigger. Coupled with her ability to shoot, Liana is a good distributor, as well as an aggressive defensive player. With her in the line-up, we will be able to spread defenses out and make them respect our shooters from each position. I appreciate her tenacious approach to the game on both sides of the ball, as she will be a difficult match-up for opponents."

Hunt earned 2019 Junior Olympic All-American Honorable Mention 16U Girls accolades. She is a two-time USA Water Polo Outstanding Academic All-American (2018-19 & 2019-20), a two-time Coastal Canyon League Champions (2018-19 & 2019-20) and a two-time First-Team All-Coastal Canyon League with 81 goals, 82 assists, 59 steals (2018-19 & 2019-20). Hunt also led her team to the 2019-20 CIF Division II semifinals.

Fanni Muzsnay – Attacker
Budapest, Hungary – Szabó Lörinc Bilingual Primary and Secondary School – FTC

"Fanni is arguably the most experienced athlete in this incoming class. She has been heavily involved with the Hungarian National Team, having competed in both the Youth and Junior World Championships from 2016 through 2019. Fanni is quick, aggressive, and can shoot the ball with power and precision. Her high-level experience, quality skill set, and underdog mentality will make her an immediate contributor to our young program."

Muzsnay is a two-time Hungarian National Champions (2015 & 2016). She was the Best Scorer of the 2019 National Junior Women's U19 Championship (101 goals, 21 matches) and Best Scorer and MVP of the 2017 U17 National Hungarian Championship with 72 goals and 67.5 points in 17 matches. She was also the Top Scorer for Hungary in the 2017 U17 European Championship with 18 goals and won the 2016 Szalay Iván Award for the Best Youth Player of the Year.

"Fresno State Athletics: The Pride of the Valley" – The Bulldog Foundation creates championship experiences for Fresno State student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in life. To become a BDF member, please call 559-278-7160.

Fresno State Athletics

Benson announces stellar 2021 class

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