By: Christian Magdaleno, Jan. 21. 2025
A national championship, multiple conference championships, national and state rankings, program milestones and an entourage of All-Americans were highlights of the Bronco fall 2024 season.
It was the first time each sport was nationally ranked at the same time. Furthermore, the Cal Poly Pomona Athletics Department received its highest ranking ever in the fall standings for the Division II National Collegiate Athletic Association with a spot at No. 4. Here is a brief look at these teams’ successes:
Women’s Soccer
The No. 1 nationally ranked women’s soccer team dominated its season with a program record of 22-1-2 (.907) with 10 wins at home and eight wins on the road, which tied for the best record on the road and set the record for wins at home.
The record-setting team also went on to go undefeated in the playoffs with seven wins to collect the CCAA Championship, NCAA West Regional and National Championship titles.
Some players who etched their names into the program’s history books include senior forward Tara Oper, senior goalkeeper Bella Hara, junior forward/midfielder Vanessa Cruz and junior defender/midfielder Liberty Ortiz. Oper and Cruz were both named First-Team All-Americans, and Ortiz was selected as All-West Region Second Team.
Oper shattered the single season assist record, collecting 12, and her role in the NCAA Tournament earned her the titles of NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player and the United States Soccer Coaches National Player of the Year.
Hara also set her own record of 14 shutouts and 22 wins in one season, solidifying herself as one of the most dominant goalkeepers in program history.
While it was only her first season with the Broncos, Cruz earned the CCAA Player of the Year, Forward of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. She also scored 12 goals, which ties her at sixth place for the program’s top 10 goals in one season.
“As a coach, you go into this, wanting (a national championship), but with a realization that this is a really hard thing to do, a lot of things have to go right,” said Broncos women’s soccer head coach Jay Mason. “And I just had that feeling with our team that it didn’t matter what was in front of them. … I just didn’t feel like they weren’t going to overcome it.”
Mason and his coaching staff were also voted as the DII NCAA Coaching Staff of the Year.
Men’s Soccer
The No. 19 nationally ranked men’s soccer team boasted a record of 13-2-7 (.750), which led it to become the CCAA regular season champions.
The Broncos also remained undefeated at Kellogg Arena, and one of the team’s most impressive feats this season was its 19-match unbeaten streak. The Broncos’ impressive season ended when they fell to Midwestern State in the NCAA Second Round.
Some notable achievements from the team include its two All-Americans — senior midfielder Max Laguna and senior defender Fin Jackson — and the five Broncos named on the All-West Region Teams: senior defender Jasper Winslow, junior forward Sam Lena, redshirt junior Luke Garciduenas, Laguna and Jackson.
Volleyball
The No. 9 nationally ranked women’s volleyball team had one of its most commanding seasons ever with a 25-4 record (.862). The Broncos steamrolled through the CCAA regular season with 17 wins, which won them the first outright CCAA regular season championship title in the program’s history. The Broncos made it to the NCAA Regional Finals but ultimately fell to the national runners-up in San Francisco State.
Although this was not the outcome the Broncos hoped for, the volleyball team managed to make history by shattering program records, multiple CCAA accolades and boasting an 18-match winning streak, which lasted two months.
Some of their most notable players were senior outside hitter Samantha Campion, senior setter Caitie Mueller, sophomore Sarah Ybarra, senior libero Avery Percival, sophomore outside hitter Charlotte Koerber and redshirt junior Helen McMullin.
Campion had a historic season in which she was voted the CCAA Player of the Year and the DII Conference Commissioner’s Association Player of the Year. She was also the second player this season to break the 1,000 digs mark, with the first being Percival.
Mueller also led this team, hitting the 3,000 assists milestone and being a key player in the success of this team. Campion, Mueller and Ybarra were given AVCA Second Team All-American honors and Mueller and Ybarra were selected as All-CCAA First Team, while Campion was voted DII CCA All-West Region First Team.
“It is like a testament to my team and the hard work they have been putting in,” said Mueller about being selected as All-CCAA First Team. “I would not be as successful without my hitters and my team, so it’s great to be able to have so many people on the first team, and I am just honored. In general, it shows how hard the team has worked.”
Women’s Cross-Country
The women’s cross-country team had several members place in the top 50 fastest times at conference races. These athletes included junior Vivian Martinez, sophomore Jade Kingston, senior Paige Moore, sophomore Galilea Jimenez, sophomore Chloe Alchin and redshirt freshman Miranda Palacios.
Martinez made history when she ran the third fastest 5K race in the program at the Old Glory Gallop with a time of 17:24; she was named on the All-CCAA team.
The team ultimately finished in third place at the CCAA Championship and placed 11th in the 6K race at NCAA West Regionals.
Men’s Cross-Country
The men’s cross-country team reached the national championships, placing 21st out of the 34 teams with an average of 31:38 in the 10K race — the highest national finish since 2019. The Broncos finished second overall in the CCAA Championships and placed fourth in the 10K race at the NCAA West Regionals.
Senior Leandro Candray, redshirt freshman Juan Ramos, junior Tom McDonnell and senior Evan Franco, who all earned All-CCAA honors, contributed to the team’s success.
Candray and Ramos cemented their legacy in the program history books when they ran the 21st and 22nd fastest times in the 8K race at the CCAA Tournament. Candray kept his pace into the regional meet when he ran the 27th fastest time in the program, and both Candray and McDonnell were awarded All-West Region honors for their performances.
Feature image courtesy of Isaiah Vazquez
