Catherine Ahumada joined the Azusa Pacific women’s water polo coaching staff as a graduate assistant following the completion of her playing career with the Cougars.
Ahumada played three seasons at Azusa Pacific, providing experience and leadership throughout her time in the program. Over her final three seasons with the Cougars, she appeared in 88 games, including 56 games over her junior and senior seasons. As a 2025 senior, Ahumada appeared in 32 games and totaled 14 goals, 31 assists, 45 points and 18 steals. She scored in 11 contests and recorded multiple assists in nine games, including a season-high four assists against Toronto. She also tallied a season-high four steals against UC Merced.
In 2024, Ahumada appeared in 29 games as a junior and tallied 12 goals to go along with 20 assists. Her .500 shooting clip was third best on the team, as she scored on 12 of her 24 shot attempts. She tallied a pair of multi-goal games, registering two goals each in Cougar wins over Toronto and Caltech. She also put together a late-season stretch in which she scored in six of eight games, tallying seven goals on seven shots with four assists while helping the Cougars carve out a 4-4 record during that stretch.
In 2023, Ahumada returned to water polo after a year away from the sport and appeared in all 27 of the Cougars’ games. She scored one goal and assisted on 14 others. Her top performance came in Azusa Pacific’s 21-7 win over Cal State Fullerton, when she scored her lone goal of the season and added four assists. She also had three assists in a 17-8 victory over McKendree.
Prior to Azusa Pacific, Ahumada played two seasons at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va., where she scored 46 goals and added 43 assists in 29 career games. As a 2021 sophomore, she ranked second on the team with 61 points, finishing with 29 goals and 31 assists. Her top outing came against Gannon, when she recorded five goals and six assists in a 19-18 double-overtime contest. Earlier in the campaign, she also scored four goals in a 16-15 victory over Gannon.
Ahumada played four seasons of varsity water polo at Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills, Calif., primarily for Head Coach Taylor Barrett. She was a four-time first-team All-Mission League selection, was named team MVP as a senior in 2019 and helped lead the Warriors to a pair of CIF-Southern Section playoff appearances. She also earned All-CIF honors twice, gaining third-team recognition as a freshman in 2016 and second-team accolades as a sophomore in 2017. Ahumada was named team defensive MVP as a freshman, sophomore and junior.
Ahumada also swam for four seasons at Bishop Alemany and competed for Santa Barbara 805 Water Polo Club for five years under Head Coach Cathy Neusal. Her club team finished no lower than third in the Junior Olympics each year.
Ahumada earned her degree in Allied Health from Azusa Pacific and plans to move on to nursing school.
