THE PATH | ALEXANDROS PROKOPIS

FROM GREECE TO THE U.S.

A journey that is only beginning.

An individual award can become a headline.

But sometimes, to truly understand what that recognition means, you have to look at everything that came before it.

For Alexandros Prokopis, being named WWPA Offensive Player of the Week is one of those moments.

Behind the award is a journey that began in Greece, continued through Olympiacos and Greek age group water polo, and has now taken him thousands of kilometres from home into the world of American collegiate water polo at McKendree University.

It is a journey about more than goals, statistics and awards.

It is about a young athlete deciding to leave behind what he knew, adapt to a completely different environment and discover how far he can go.

BEFORE AMERICA

Alexandros Prokopis comes from Palaio Faliro, Greece, where he attended the 2nd High School of Palaio Faliro before deciding to combine his academic and athletic ambitions in the United States.

Before crossing the Atlantic, he played for Olympiacos, with his presence on the club’s youth roster during the 2023 to 24 season documented by Olympiacos’ official academy records. McKendree also lists Olympiacos as his previous club.

His journey through Greek water polo had already given him significant competitive experience.

According to his official McKendree biography, before moving to the United States he had achieved first and second place at the Greek National Championships in consecutive years, while also participating in training camps with the Greek National Team in his age group.

So when Prokopis left for America, he was not simply looking for somewhere to begin.

He already had the foundations of the Greek development system behind him.

The next step demanded something different.

Leaving the familiar behind.

And starting again.

THE DECISION TO MOVE TO THE U.S.

His next destination was McKendree University.

There, Prokopis competes as an attacker, wearing No. 4, while studying Exercise Science and Sports Performance.

But moving to America was about much more than changing teams.

It meant changing his life.

A new country.
A new team.
New teammates.
A different competitive environment.
University.
Training.
Travel.

And all of it far from home.

Speaking exclusively to YARE, Prokopis explains:

“I’m currently in my second year at McKendree, and my experience in the U.S. has been a very important part of my development, both as a water polo player and as a person.”

And he continues:

“Coming from Greece, where water polo has such a strong tradition, moving to the U.S. and adapting to a new environment has been a great challenge and an exciting opportunity at the same time.”

Two words perhaps describe the transition better than anything else:

CHALLENGE.

OPPORTUNITY.

STUDENT ATHLETE

TWO WORLDS AT ONCE

The American collegiate system requires a young athlete to operate in two demanding environments simultaneously.

In the pool, performance matters.

At university, academic performance matters too.

And between the two, there is the challenge of learning how to manage everyday life away from family and everything that once felt familiar.

For Prokopis, that has become part of his development.

“Being part of McKendree has pushed me to work harder, become more disciplined and learn how to compete at a high level while balancing academics and life away from home.”

The discipline he describes is no longer limited to training.

It is about learning how to organise an entire life.

And somewhere along the way, the story stops being exclusively about water polo.

It becomes a story about growing up.

YEAR ONE

AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT

In the pool, his first season at McKendree quickly provided evidence of how well he was adapting.

As a freshman in 2025, Prokopis appeared in all 24 games for McKendree.

He finished the season with:

43 GOALS

32 ASSISTS

75 POINTS

33 STEALS

27 EXCLUSIONS DRAWN

7 HAT TRICKS

He scored at least once in 20 of McKendree’s 24 games.

His impact was recognised immediately.

Prokopis was selected to the WWPA All Freshman Team and earned WWPA All Conference Honorable Mention recognition.

But there was another side to his first year.

Away from the pool, he also earned WWPA All Academic and ACWPC All Academic honours.

The two sides of his American experience were beginning to come together.

Athlete.

Student.

And the challenge of progressing in both at the same time.

YEAR TWO

THE NEXT STEP

His second year has started to bring something beyond experience.

Greater responsibility.

At the W&J Invitational in September 2026, Prokopis recorded:

20 POINTS

8 GOALS

12 ASSISTS

7 STEALS

66.7% SHOOTING

Then came the announcement.

WWPA OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

The first such honour of his collegiate career.

It could easily have become the conclusion of this story.

For Prokopis, however, the award is not simply an individual achievement.

“A REFLECTION OF THE WORK OF THE WHOLE TEAM”

When YARE asked him what the recognition meant, Prokopis chose first to talk about the people around him.

“Being named WWPA Offensive Player of the Week is a great honor and something I’m very proud of. However, I see it as a reflection of the work of the whole team.”

He continued:

“I’m grateful to my coaches and teammates for their support and for the trust they give me every day.”

And his final thought perhaps says even more:

“Individual awards are special, but the most important thing is always what we achieve together as a team.”

In a sport where a goal is recorded next to one player’s name, it can be easy to focus only on the person who finishes the play.

Prokopis chooses to remember everything and everyone that came before the ball reached the back of the net.

THE NUMBERS DON’T TELL THE WHOLE STORY

There is another part of his second year that offers a glimpse into how his role at McKendree is changing.

His coach, Miguel Figueras, has publicly discussed Prokopis’ development toward taking on greater leadership responsibility.

In McKendree’s own coverage, Figueras described a moment that will never appear on a stat sheet:

Prokopis took the initiative to lead his teammates through additional sprints ahead of competition.

A small detail.

But perhaps one of the most revealing parts of the story.

There is a significant difference between being the freshman trying to establish himself and becoming the athlete who, a year later, begins to take responsibility for the group around him.

That development cannot be measured in goals or assists.

“EVERY GAME IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN”

Despite the recognition, Prokopis does not speak as though he has arrived at a destination.

He talks about what comes next.

“Every season and every game gives me the opportunity to learn something new and continue developing.”

Perhaps that sentence captures his journey better than any statistic.

Because the development of a young athlete is rarely a straight line.

It is not one medal.

It is not one national team call up.

It is not 43 goals.

And it is not one Player of the Week award.

It is everything that happens between those moments.

The training sessions nobody sees.

The changes you have to adapt to.

The moments when you have to start again.

And the decision to keep learning even when recognition begins to arrive.

THE PATH CONTINUES

From Palaio Faliro to Olympiacos.

From Greek age group championships and National Team camps to the other side of the Atlantic.

From his first day at McKendree to a freshman season featuring 43 goals and 32 assists.

From learning how to adapt to beginning to assume greater responsibility within the team.

And now, to his first WWPA Offensive Player of the Week honour.

If you look only at the latest announcement, you see an award.

Look at everything that came before it, and you see something much more interesting.

A development story that is still only beginning.

Alexandros Prokopis is only in his second year in the United States.

There are still games to play.

Lessons to learn.

Goals to pursue.

And chapters that have yet to be written.

Because ultimately, this is not the story of an award.

IT IS THE STORY OF THE PATH.

The story of a young athlete who left the familiar behind, crossed the Atlantic and continues to discover how far he can go.

THE PATH | ALEXANDROS PROKOPIS

From Greece to the U.S.

From adaptation to development.

And the journey continues.

YARE

Where Water Polo Lives. Every Day.