In the world of Menlo athletics, few dominate their sport the way sophomore Hunter Coleman — a 6-foot-5-inch Menlo water polo star — does in the pool. Last year, Coleman was an All-American and first-team all-league. This year, he’s taking the reins of a team destined for success with many returning varsity players.

Coleman’s mom, Jen Coleman, was a D1 collegiate swimmer at the University of California Santa Barbara, so naturally, Hunter Coleman started swimming at a very young age. He started playing water polo at the age of nine for the Stanford Water Polo Club 10U team. “My coach made everything really fun. I looked forward to practice because of all the fun I was having playing with my friends,” he said.

At the Stanford Water Polo Club, Hunter Coleman developed his skills and became close with friends on the team, many of whom would later become his future teammates on the Menlo team, including sophomores Lincoln Bott, Adam Afar and Brady Hendricks. Hunter Coleman’s older brother, Jackson Coleman ‘25, was similarly invested in the sport and a crucial factor in his decision to attend Menlo as a freshman. “Jackson and his friends always said nothing but positive things about Menlo,” Hunter Coleman said. 

The brothers had the opportunity to play together on Menlo’s water polo team last year. “We became the closest we’ve ever been from driving to practices, talking about water polo and overall spending much of our time together,” Hunter Coleman said. 

Additionally, Hunter Coleman was a part of a very talented group of freshman water polo players who helped the varsity team win the NorCal championships last year. “Since we’d played together since such a young age, we had lots of chemistry,” Bott said.

After Hunter Coleman’s standout season, he was informed by boys’ water polo coach Jack Bowen that he was the only freshman in the nation to be chosen as an All-American. “I was shocked. I was really surprised since I didn’t think it would happen at all, but I was, of course, really excited,” Hunter Coleman said. 

According to his teammates, Hunter Coleman’s success was no surprise. “During practice, Hunter is always locked in, no goofing off and getting the job done. During games, he has one goal in mind — to win — and he gets that done,” Bott said.
Last year, the Knights finished fourth in the league; however, with another influx of freshman water polo players, the team has started the season 14-2 and is improving every day. Hunter Coleman is very positive about this year’s team. “I want to and think we can win CCS and beat SHP,” he said.