Strohl is the first female water polo athlete at AHS to play at a four-year university straight out of high school

ATASCADERO — On Friday, Jan. 31, at 11:09 a.m., teammates, coaches, administrators, teachers, and family gathered to celebrate Atascadero High School’s (AHS) water polo player Katie Strohl, who signed with the University of California Merced. Strohl is making AHS history by being their first female water polo athlete to head straight into playing for a four-year college after graduation, and AHS showed up to cheer her on in her achievements. 

“Honestly, it’s surreal. I’ve been wanting to play at the college level since I was a freshman,” Strohl said. “I was at my signing the other day, and I was just like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is actually happening.’ It feels great. I’m so excited and can’t wait.”

The signing took place at the AHS campus and kicked off with Athletic Director Sam DeRose talking about Strohl’s time at AHS and going into her future plans. Strohl also gave a speech that she had written earlier.

“My family was there, my teammates, all my friends. My coaches were there. It was really great. It was nice getting recognized,” added Strohl. 

She said she did her formal signing with UC Merced a couple of months ago but was excited to have everyone who got her to where she is today at AHS on the 31st.

“I was looking around and seeing everyone that’s helped me get to where I was. My teachers, my coaches, my friends, my parents, my family, obviously,” Strohl said. “It was really nice to be able to have everyone get together and celebrate because they played a huge, huge role in me becoming a collegiate athlete. It was great. I felt very loved.”

Growing up, Strohl’s family had a pool, and it was one of her favorite places to be, but it wasn’t until her family moved to Atascadero from the Valley and her sister joined water polo that she was introduced to the sport.  

“From there, I fell in love with it. I fell in love with Atascadero water polo specifically,” Strohl said. “The team dynamic of everyone, the boys and the girls team, it’s just great. So I do think that had a very big impact on me because I always had fun. I built a little family.”

Originally, Strohl thought that soccer would be a part of her path, but her love of water polo took over.

“I didn’t even really like register in my head that I was good enough to play at the next level until late in my sophomore year,” she added about going into a more dedicated training regimen. “I just really found a passion and comfort in playing water polo.”

During her AHS water polo career, Strohl was a four-year varsity water polo player, with two of those years as MVP and captain. She also currently holds the AHS records for career goals (216), assists season (58), assists career (139), steals season (120), and steals career (268). All of the records were broken in either 2023 or 2024. She also broke the 100 butterfly (100.90) last year in AHS swim.

“She has been blessed with amazing teammates, coaches, counselors, administrators, and water polo families that have helped her realize her goals,” said Strohl’s mom, Nikole. “We couldn’t be more grateful for all of the help and love she has received along the way.” 

Strohl went on to say that she loves being a part of a water polo team and that the camaraderie she’s found with the other girls on the AHS team is something that’s made her enjoy the sport even more. In fact, one of her teammates is also headed to Merced after graduation, and the two girls are already planning day trips to Yosemite to get out into nature, which is one of Strohl’s other passions.

“Thanks to the coaching staff, because there were a lot of times when I would be asking a lot of questions, and they were always very willing to stay after practice for 20 minutes to explain something and the reason behind why we’re doing it. Specifically, Rob Rucker, who’s one of the most influential coaches to me,” added Strohl.

The rest of Strohl’s influential coaches are Jon Conrad, Alyx Truax, Evy Cooper, and Mitch Stafford. She also wanted to say thank you to her mom, dad, family, and teammates for helping her get to a place where she can continue playing water polo at the next level.

Strohl will start her collegiate water polo career at UC Merced in the fall after graduating from AHS in June.

Congratulations. 

Featured Image: Katie Strohl (center) celebrates signing with UC Merced. Contributed photo