Feb. 7, 2012

STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford men's water polo's 2012 recruiting class increased by one Tuesday, as Cardinal head coach John Vargas announced the signing of B J Churnside (Orange, Calif./Villa Park HS) to a National Letter of Intent.

Churnside joins Bret Bonanni, who signed his NLI with Stanford on Feb. 1, on a Cardinal team that went 19-7 in 2011 and finished the season ranked fourth in the nation.

"We are both honored and excited to have B J join our team," Vargas noted. "B J has a brilliant mind and can create many scoring opportunities because he has the ability to predict the next few moves of an opponent. Our goal with B J is to use his versatility and speed to help our program become the best in the nation. As far as mental toughness, he needs little help and in fact will push others on our team to explore new levels of positive energy and attitude."

Churnside, a utility, comes to The Farm from Villa Park (Calif.) High School, where he scored 154 goals this past fall as the Spartans reached the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division II tournament. Churnside was named to the All-CIF Southern Section Division II First Team for his efforts in 2011, the third straight year he has been so honored. He was named to the second team as a freshman in 2008.

He finished his prep career with a school-record 424 goals and was named to the NISCA/Speedo Boys All-America Third Team in 2010-11.

Churnside has also played internationally with USA Water Polo. He saw action with the U.S. Youth National Team this past August at the Giugno International Tournament in Sicily.

Additionally, he will become the second member of his family to play water polo on The Farm. His older sister Cassie is currently a senior on the Stanford women's water polo team.