Kiley Neushul’s remarkable water polo career includes championships and honors at every level of competition.
The Goleta native and Dos Pueblos alum is about to recognized with the ultimate honor for her score of accomplishments in the sport.
Neushul is going to be inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.
She is one of four honorees in the USAWP Hall’s 40th induction class, joining her former USA coach and two-time Olympian and World Cup gold medalist Chris Oeding, and coaching icons Doug Peabody and Ken Smith.
The induction ceremony is scheduled for Friday, June 7 at the Doubletree by Hilton in Claremont.
Neushul, the eldest daughter of Cathy and Peter Neushul, was a starter on the 2016 USA Water Polo gold medal-winning women’s team at the Rio Olympics in Brazil. She also was part of three World Championship teams in 2015, 2017 and 2019 and won every major tournament around the world (World Cup, World Super League) during her time with the national team.
The winning continued as a professional water polo player. She played in Spain for the club C.N. Sabadell in Barcelona and won three Spanish League titles and one European League championship. She also played domestically for the New York Athletic Club and won multiple titles.
Groomed in the sport by her water polo-playing parents, Kiley started tearing it up in the pool at an early age
“At age 12, she was already carving up defenses against women in their 20s,” said USA Water Polo in a press release. “She seemed destined to win high school state championships, NCAA titles, Olympic medals, and more. And she did. In fact, as a tactician with precision on both offense and defense, she spent the next 10 years amassing every honor a water polo player could want – sometimes twice.”
In high school, Kiley led Dos Pueblos to four straight CIF-Southern Section championships and was named the section’s Player of the Year each year. During her time as a Charger, the team won 67 straight games.
At the club level, her Santa Barbara Water Polo Club and Santa Barbara 805 WPC teams won five USA Water Polo Junior Olympics title.
Kiley trained with the U.S. Women’s National Team in its run-up top the 2012 Olympic Games in London, where it won the gold medal.
In 2013, she claimed a gold of her own as a member of the U.S. Junior National Team at the Junior World Championship. She also played in several major tournaments with the senior team and scored goals.
Kiley enjoyed a storied collegiate career at Stanford. She led the Cardinal to three NCAA titles and twice won the Cutino Award, which recognizes the best player in the college game.
Kiley reached the goal of playing in the Olympic Games in 2016. She was joined on the squad by local players Kami Craig (a Santa Barbara High alum and 2021 USAWP Hall of Fame inductee) and Sami Hill, who was also a high school teammate at Dos Pueblos.
Kiley scored 10 goals in the Olympic tournament, including three in the 12-5 gold-medal win over Italy.
Kiley helped Team USA qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo before retiring from the national team. Her younger sister, Jamie, made the squad and won a gold medal at the rescheduled Games in 2021.
Currently, youngest sister, Ryann, is in the mix to make the team for this summer’s Olympics in Paris.
