SAN DIEGO – Mimi Stoupas, a center on the No. 17-ranked San Diego State water polo team, was named the 2026 Golden Coast Conference’s (GCC) Water Polo Player of Year and is one of five Aztecs who were recognized among the league’s postseason award winners it was announced on Tuesday.
Senior Claudia Valdes and Stoupas were named to the conference’s first team. Sydney Gish, also a senior, garnered second team distinction while freshmen Kyla Pranajaya and Ioanna Petiki were named honorable mention and All-Freshman Team honorees, respectively.
Stoupas is the second Aztec to earn GCC Player of the Year distinction, joining two-time winner Caroline Israels, who took home the award in 2015 and 2017.
A native of Melbourne, Australia, Stoupas led the league with 74 goals and ranked No. 5 in steals (33) and No. 6 in points (83). She totaled 19 games with multiple goals, including 14 hat tricks, and her six goals against both Cal State Fullerton and Santa Clara are tied for the third most in a game in Aztecs’ history. Her 74 strikes are the 10th most in a single season for a player in Scarlet and Black, and her 179 drawn exclusions rank No. 8 on the program’s all-time list. In 2026, the product of Caulfield Grammar School in Melbourne recorded 15 games with multiple drawn exclusions, including a mind-boggling seven against No. 2-ranked Southern California.
These are the fourth and fifth postseason honors for Stoupas, who as a freshman in 2024 was named to the All-Freshman Team and an honorable mention performer and last year garnered a first-team moniker.
Valdes, an attacker and one of the most well-rounded players in the league, ranked second in the GCC in points (107), third in assists (60) and steals (40), sixth in blocks (11), and 10th in goals (47). Among the Aztecs, she led the team in points and assists, was second in steals, blocks and drawn exclusions (24), and her goals and 108 shots ranked third on the team.
Valdes is one of two Aztecs since at least the start of 2014, San Diego State’s GCC era, to total at least 100 points in a season. The first to accomplish the milestone was Israels, who finished the 2017 season with 108 points. Valdes has recorded at least 100 points in each of the last three seasons: 116 in 2024, 112 in 2025 and this season’s 107.
Valdes has been honored by the conference after each of her four seasons. In 2023, she was named to the All-Freshman Team, and the following year garnered first team accolades. Last season she was a second team performer.
With 56 goals in 2026, which ranks second on the team, Gish, an attacker, had the best goal scoring year of her career. In addition, she produced career-highs in shots (115), assists (33), points (89) and steals (34). Her shot, goal and point totals all rank No. 2 on the squad, while her assists and steals are the third most among the Aztecs and she ranks No. 4 in drawn exclusions (14) and fifth in blocks (4). Among GCC competitors, her points and steals rank No. 4, and goals and assists slot in at No. 6.
The Clovis, Calif., native, has at least 10 hat tricks this year among 18 multi-goal games. She totaled 10 games of multiple assists, including a career-high five against Claremont-Mudd Scripps, which is tied for the third most in a game in program history, and posted nine games with multiple steals. This is the second GCC honor for Gish after earning honorable mention distinction last year.
Pranajaya, a freshman goalie, made seven starts among 13 total appearances. She played 270:29, posted a 5-3 record with a team-leading 96 saves, 10.29 goals against average, and a .525 save percentage with 12 assists and 14 steals.
The native of Orange, Calif., totaled four games of double digit saves, including a season-high 13 against Pacific. Her three assists vs. Concordia and four steals against Fresno State were both season bests. Among the GCC goalies, her saves rank No. 6, her save percentage is the second best and goals against average ranks fourth. For San Diego State, her saves, assists and steals led the team. The five wins, goals against average and save percentage ranked second and her minutes total was third.
Petiki, a native of Stuttgart, Germany, has played in all 26 games, and ranks second on the team with 56 assists, which slots in at No. 4 in the GCC. In addition, she is third for SDSU in drawn exclusions (18), fourth in points (79) and blocks (6), and fifth in steals (24). Her seven assists against Azusa Pacific match the program’s single game high and she also posted a six-assist game versus Biola, which is tied for the second most in program history.
Petiki enjoyed four multi-goal games, including a pair of hat tricks. She had just two games without an assist, while totaling multiple assists on 18 occasions, and finishing with three or more in eight contests.
San Diego State is the 3-seed in this weekend's GCC Championship Tournament at Fresno State Aquatics Center in Fresno, Calif., and will take on the 6-seed Azusa Pacific on Friday, April 10 at noon PT.