Taylor Smith, a senior attacker for the UCLA women’s water polo team, has been named the MPSF/Delfina Player of the Week. The announcement comes after Smith led her team to victory at the Triton Invitational championship in San Luis Obispo.
Smith scored 16 points over four games during the tournament, with 15 of those points coming from goals. She began the event by scoring three goals against Cal State Fullerton on January 30. Later that day, she recorded a career-high six goals in UCLA’s win over Arizona State and added another goal against Hawai’i on January 31.
In the final game of the tournament, UCLA defeated USC 12-9. Smith contributed five goals and an assist in that match on February 1. Across the three-day tournament, she also made three steals, one field block, and won five out of six sprints.
This is Smith’s third time earning MPSF Player of the Week honors; she previously received this recognition in both 2025 and 2024. In addition, she was named Newcomer of the Week twice in 2023.
Other nominees for this week’s award included Despoina Drakotou (California), Darcy Spark (San Jose State), Emily Ausmus (USC), and Nicole Tyner (Indiana).
