The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table will be inducting seven new members into its Hall of Fame on Monday, Sept. 14, at 5:30 p.m. The Induction Class of 2026 includes four athletes, two coaches and a special achievement honoree.
This is the first in a series of stories about this year’s inductees.
Click here to purchase tickets to the 2026 SBART Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
Opposing offenses always knew they were in for a long day at the office when Jenna Phreaner was on the other side of the pool.
Whether it was as a San Marcos Royal or a UC Irvine Anteater, Phreaner was a force at the goalie position throughout her competitive water polo career.
Phreaner began her high school years in 2011 and quickly made a name for herself at the varsity level.
She was named to the All-Channel League Second Team after the 2012 season, and followed that up with an All-Channel League First Team campaign in 2013.
Her strong high school career quickly became an elite one when she made the biggest splash in her senior season, racking up the accolades and earning herself nationwide praise.
She was a dominant force in the cage in her last year as a Royal, leading to her being named the 2014 Channel League Most Valuable Player and the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Co-Athlete of the Year.
Her achievements went past the local area as well, as she earned a spot on both the All-CIF-SS Division 1 First Team and the All-Southern California Second Team, and was named an All-American.
Phreaner’s skill set of blocking shots and commanding a defensive unit attracted the attention of UC Irvine, where she furthered both her academic and water polo careers.
She was a member of the Anteater program from 2015 to 2019, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Social Behavior along the way.
After two years growing and developing, Phreaner enjoyed her best season as a junior in 2018 thanks in part to an impressive late-season run.
UC Irvine entered the 2018 Big West Championship tournament coming off a regular season in which it went 3-2 against conference opponents. However, the Anteaters responded by rattling off three consecutive wins over CSU Northridge, UC Davis and the University of Hawaii to win the Big West Championship.
Phreaner took center stage during the tournament run, winning the 2018 Big West Championship Most Valuable Player award, her proudest achievement as a player. She totaled eight saves in the overtime championship win over Hawaii and finished with 18 saves in the tournament.
While her junior season provided the proudest moment of her athletic career, her senior year proved to be the toughest and marked the end of her time playing in the pool.
Phreaner was looking to build on her successful postseason run in 2017, but a hip labral tear and the rehab that followed forced her to miss the entirety of her final season.
Although her playing days were over, she continued to serve as the 14U head coach and age group director for Corona Del Mar Aquatics until 2021, a position she held for four years.
Phreaner is now a medical student and volunteers for Doctors Without Walls-Santa Barbara Street Medicine.
“Water polo is why I am who I am,” Phreaner said. “It gave me the discipline to succeed academically, and I believe it is the reason I was able to pursue medical school.”
