Wyatt Benson

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Height:
6-3
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Huntingdown Beach, Calif.
High School:
Mater Dei

Awards:
NWPC All-Tournament First Team (2019)

2021: Put up 35 goals, a team-best 75 drawn ejections, 10 steals and 10 blocks … Hat trick and three drawn ejections vs. Mt. St. Mary’s (Sept. 4) and No. 16 Bucknell (Sept. 12) … Drew five ejections vs. No. 20 Navy (Sept. 25) … Hat trick at Iona (Oct. 9) and drew five ejections at SFC Brooklyn (Oct. 9) … Hat trick and three drawn ejections vs. No. 19 Air Force (Oct. 23) … Scored four times vs. Iona (Nov. 6) … Scored twice and drew six ejections vs. No. 16 Fordham in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (Nov. 27).

2020: Season canceled due to COVID-19

2019: Did not miss a game … Snagged 29 goals and led the squad with 69 drawn ejections … Hat trick to start the year vs. La Salle (Sept. 7) … Drew seven ejections vs. No. 2 Stanford (Sept. 18) and five more vs. No. 9 UC San Diego (Sept. 13) … Added three straight games with a goal (Sept. 14-15) … Contributed in four consecutive games with a tally including a hat trick vs. Air Force (Sept. 28) … Scored a goal and drew five ejections at No. 13 LMU (Sept. 28) … Multi-goal outings at Iona (Oct. 12) and vs. No. 16 St. Francis-Brooklyn (Oct. 13) … Ended the season with goals in four straight games including three multi-goal contests (Nov. 9-24) … Dropped in two goals and five drawn ejections vs. No. 19 Brown (Nov. 23) in the NWPC Semifinals.

2018: Did not miss any action, starting every game … Registered 31 goals … Led the team with 84 drawn ejections … Opened the season with a goal in seven straight games (Sept. 1-9) … Drew five ejections vs. Wagner (Sept. 1) … Snagged five goals vs. Santa Clara (Sept. 7) … Had four drawn ejections vs. Air Force (Sept. 9) … NWPC Rookie of the Week (Sept. 11) … Contributed five ejections vs. MIT (Sept. 29) … Multi-goal outings vs. No. 7 Harvard (Oct. 6) and Iona (Oct. 19) … Helped with six drawn ejections vs. Whittier (Oct. 27) … Dropped in two goals and seven drawn ejections vs. No. 19 Pomona-Pitzer (Oct. 31) … Put up multi-goal performances vs. No. 18 St. Francis-Brooklyn (Nov. 4) and Iona (Nov. 16) … Finished the season with a hat trick and four drawn ejections vs. No. 16 George Washington in the NCAA Play-In Game (Nov. 24) … NWPC Rookie of the Week (Nov. 26).

Before Princeton:
High School: CIF-SS Division I and Trinity first team accolades … Squad won the CIF-SS Division I title and California State High School crowns twice (2015, 2017) and the inaugural California regional championship (2017) … Earned Team’s Best Offensive Player …

Academic: Secured honors on the Principal’s List … Honor Roll … USA Water Polo Academic All-America … California Scholastic Federation … Water Polo and Swim Team Scholar-Athlete Award.

ODP/National: Junior Olympic Champion in the platinum division three times (14U twice, 19U) … Ironman 19UTournament Champion in 2015.

Personal: Son of Laurie and Gary Benson … Has a sister, Laurel.

Why I chose Princeton: “I chose Princeton for the great traditions and rich history of the University, the outstanding academics and the strong water polo program.”

Career Stats:

Season	GP	Goals	Shots	Assists	Steals	Sprints (W-L)	Ej. Drawn	Ejections	Blocks
2018	30	31	76	9	13	0-0	84	29	13
2019	31	29	58	3	7	0-0	69	20	8
2021		35	64	3	10	0-0	75	17	10
Career		95	198	15	30	0-0	228	49	31

	Career Highs
Goals	5, vs. Santa Clara (9/7/18)
Assists	3, vs. Brown (9/29/18)
Steals	3, vs. Iona (11/4/18)
Ej. Drawn	7, 2x - MR - vs. No. 2 Stanford (9/18/19)
Blocks	2, 5x - MR - vs No. 16 Fordham (11/27/21)