James Balassone Class: RS Freshman Hometown: Los Altos, CA High School: Menlo School Height: 6-1 Position: Driver Experience: HS Major: Undeclared

National Team: Competed with the U.S. National Development Team in Hungary (2004) and Serbia (2004 and '05) ... was part of the U.S. National Cadet Team that competed in Calgary in 2006.

2009: Redshirted the year.

High School: A 2009 graduate of Menlo School ... captained Menlo's water polo team as a senior ... helped lead team to consecutive CCS Division II titles in 2005 and '06 ... earned second-team NISCA and CA/Hawai'i All-America honors as a senior ... named to All-NorCal First Team ... selected as Peninsula Athletic League MVP as a senior ... named second-team All-CCS as a junior and sophomore ... also earned All-NorCal honorable mention in 2007 ... two-time first-team All-PAL selection (2006-07) ... named fifth-team NISCA All-American in 2006 ... two-time All-PAL swimmer for Menlo ... played for Stanford Water Polo Club for 13 years.

Personal: Born in Los Altos, Calif. ... undeclared major ... parents are Jim and Betsy Balassone ... has two sisters, Elizabeth and Merrill ... Merrill ran track at USC ... hopes to one day have a career in medicine ... counts golf as a hobby.