Bay Area hotel hazing reportedly rocks star Long Beach HS water polo team
The school has reportedly taken swift action since learning about the hazing.
The Woodrow Wilson High School boys water polo team from Long Beach, California, is renowned for its excellence in the sport, with former players included in the U.S. Olympic team for the past seven Summer Olympics. The team, known as the Bruins, has won 17 of the last 18 Moore League titles and consistently ranks high in state and national competitions.
On October 9, 2026, during a tournament in the Bay Area hosted by Bellarmine, Harker, and Saint Francis schools, the team stayed at the Element Santa Clara hotel. However, allegations of hazing emerged, causing significant disruption to the team.
More than a dozen players were reportedly affected by the hazing incident, which involved humiliating and physically harmful acts. Coach Zac Polmanteer, in an email to parents, described the behavior as "shocking, unacceptable, and completely contrary to everything we stand for as a program." The email was sent on Monday night, after the team had returned to Long Beach from the tournament.
The Long Beach Post also reported that noise complaints about the hotel room where the hazing took place were made the following day, but Polmanteer was not aware of the incident until after the team's return.
The hazing incident reportedly resulted in several players sustaining injuries from being physically struck by their teammates. As a consequence, the team's performance suffered, with most of the seniors and the program's previous starting lineup not playing in the team's subsequent matches. On Tuesday, when the Bruins faced their cross-town rival, Long Beach Poly, they lost by one goal each.
The following day, they were shut out 5-0 in a match against Loyola High School. The Bruins have two more regular season matches before the Southern Section playoffs begin. This incident is not the first hazing scandal to affect the water polo scene in Southern California, as another prominent case involved Lucca van der Woude, a top youth player, who was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting teammates at Harvard-Westlake in 2024.
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