The Big West announced its men’s water polo award winners and all-conference teams Friday, naming UC Santa Barbara’s Dash McFarland Player of the Year and head coach Wolf Wigo Coach of the Year.

McFarland was also named to the All-Big West First Team, one of five Gaucho players receiving all-conference honors.

Adam Gyenis joined McFarland on the First Team, with goalkeeper Levi Lentin earning Second Team honors. Finn Genc was named to the All-Freshman Team, and Logan Sutter earned honorable mention.

McFarland dominated pretty much anyone and everyone in front of goal this season, hammering home 82 goals from his center position en route to his Player of the Year award and First Team selection.

That mark ties him for the fifth-highest scoring season in program history and the joint-highest scoring season by a Gaucho in the 21st century.

The Berkeley native recorded six five-plus-goal games this year and a total of 16 hat-tricks on the season, including against his hometown Golden Bears, at the time the No. 1 team in the nation.

His last hat trick came in the regular season finale at Long Beach State, the crucial win that earned UC Santa Barbara the No. 2 seed for The Big West Championship.

Wigo was recognized as the conference’s Coach of the Year for guiding his Gauchos not only to that No. 2 seed but to the conference championship match, despite the adversity and uncertainty that the program faced this season.

With Campus Pool out of commission, UC Santa Barbara played its home games at local high schools and held practices at the Rec Center pool, often at late hours in the evening.

Despite those disruptions of the routine, the Gauchos posted a 17-13 record, powered by the highest-scoring offense in The Big West (415 goals).

Gyenis played just as much of a role in that offense as McFarland did, earning himself a first-team selection.

The Hungarian attacker would have been the top scorer on all but one of the other teams in The Big West, firing home a career-best 64 goals and adding 24 assists to actually finish with a higher point total than McFarland (88 versus 85).

When teams double- and triple-teamed McFarland this year, Gyenis took advantage of the space, especially in The Big West Championship.

In the semifinal against UC San Diego, Gyenis scored six of the Gauchos’ 13 goals, leading the team to a thrilling overtime victory.

It was his 11th hat-trick of the season, a collection of performances highlighted by 11 goals in one day on Sept. 23 — three against San Jose State and a whopping eight against Loyola Marymount.

Lentin had some big shoes to fill at the other end of the pool for the Gauchos, replacing All-American goalkeeper Danny Roland following his graduation.

The La Jolla native did well, earning All-Big West Second Team honors for his work. He was especially good against his hometown UC San Diego, posting double-digit saves in all three games against the Tritons.

On Oct. 29, he posted career highs for steals (5) and saves (13), only to break the latter of those two marks in The Big West Semifinal on Nov. 18, making 14 stops in the Gauchos’ overtime thriller.

He is the only goalie on the all-conference Second Team, with only one netminder ahead of him on the First Team.

Finn Genc slid right into UC Santa Barbara’s offense in his rookie season, adding yet another option beyond the McFarland-Gyenis duo.

He especially stepped up late in the season, scoring in each of his last six appearances en route to a 30-goal campaign, tied for the fifth most on the team.

His impressive rookie season included four hat-tricks, one of which helped the Gauchos earn a tight, 16-15 win over Loyola Marymount at The Big West-WCC Clash on Oct. 1.

Unfortunately for the Gauchos, Genc missed out on The Big West Championship through injury.

Sutter made his final season at UC Santa Barbara his best, posting career highs for both goals (31) and assists (20).

The crafty lefty was one of the most consistent pieces of the Gauchos’ attack, providing at least one goal or assist in 27 of Santa Barbara’s 30 games this season, earning an All-Big West Honorable Mention for his contribution.

His 51 points ranked fourth on the team, as did his 17 steals. He tallied just one hat trick this season, but more importantly, had 10 games with both a goal and an assist.

Brock Zamanian made a similar contribution to the Gauchos’ success this season, with 30 goals and 34 assists, but was left off the all-conference list.