Cal junior Nikolaos Papanikolaou has been named one of the three finalists for the Peter J. Cutino Award, given annually to the top male and female NCAA water polo players.

Papanikolaou was named the MPSF Player of the Year and an ACWPC First Team All-American during the delayed 2020 season last spring. He ranked in the top-10 in the conference in goals, points, steals and field blocks.

This marks the third time in the past five years the Bears have had a finalist for the award. Johnny Hooper was one of the final three in 2018 and Luca Cupido won the award in 2017.

Cupido is one of three Golden Bears to win the Cutino Award, joining Ivan Rackov in 2010 and John Mann in 2006.

Papanikolaou led Cal to the semifinals of the NCAA Championships last season and a final No. 3 national ranking. The Bears were ranked No. 1 for four weeks during the season.

Jacob Mercep of USC and Nicolas Saveljic of UCLA are this year's other finalists.

The winner will be announced during a live remote broadcast on USA Water Polo's YouTube channel on Sept. 2.

The award is named after former legendary Cal coach Pete Cutino, who led the Bears to eight national titles.