IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine men's water polo alumni Ryan Bailey and Jeff Powers were announced as part of the 35^th induction class for the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.

Bailey and Powers are two of seven inductees that will be recognized June 7 at the 2019 USA Water Polo Hall of Fame Luncheon at the DoubleTree Hilton Pleasanton in Pleasanton, CA. The event will help kick-off the 2019 Masters National Championship at area pools in the Tri-Valley, CA area.

Bailey, a Long Beach native, was a standout on the UCI men's water polo team from 1995-98. During his time with the Anteaters, he was a three-time All-American (1995, 1996, 1998) and was coached under the legendary Ted Newland. Over his four years, he helped the Anteaters to a 63-38 record and a fourth-place finish nationally in 1995.

Bailey took part in four Olympic Games for Team USA (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012), claiming a Silver medal in 2008. After UCI, he joined the USA Water Polo Men's Senior National Team as a center and helped Team USA win four Gold medals at the Pan American Games and a FINA World League Silver medal. Bailey competed for a variety of clubs over his career, including VK Jug Dubrovnik and VK Jadran Split in Croatia, Dynamo Moscow in Russia, Panionios in Greece and VK Partizan in Serbia. He remains involved in the game today coaching, teaching clinics, and competing in Masters Water Polo.

Powers, who was also coached under Ted Newland, played at UCI from 1998-2002. He was a two time All-American (2000 & 2002) and helped the 'Eaters to an MPSF Championship title in 2000, as UCI finished the season 20-7 overall and fourth in the nation. He helped the Anteaters compile a 69-58 overall record during his time at as an Anteater.

Powers, a three-time Olympian (2004, 2008, 2012), helped Team USA win Silver in 2008. He scored a late goal against Serbia in the semi-final to send Team USA to the Gold Medal game in 2008. Powers was named to the All-World Team in 2009 and helped Team USA qualify for the 2013 FINA World Championship. He played for a variety of clubs abroad including stops in Greece, Italy and Hungary. He remains entrenched in the sport as a coach.

Selection Procedure Information
Inductees were chosen through a process that included open nominations by their peers, evaluation of their candidacy by the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame Committee, and final ratification of the committee's recommendations by the USA Water Polo Board of Directors. USA Water Polo inducted its first Hall of Fame class in 1976.
More details on the selection process can be found here: https://usawaterpolo.org/sports/2018/12/19/recognition.aspx#hof

About USA Water Polo 
USA Water Polo, Inc., is the national governing body for water polo in America, overseeing our United States Olympic program as well as 20 championship events annually, such as Junior Olympics and Masters National Championships. With more than 45,000 members, USAWP also is the sanctioning authority for more than 500 member clubs and more than 400 tournaments nationwide. USAWP is committed to the development of the sport throughout the U.S., fostering grass-roots expansion of the sport and providing a national system of affiliated clubs, certified coaches, and officials.