The Team USA Women regained the top ranking in the world with their gold medal performance at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar. They will be fighting for a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in Paris this summer.

Team USA has veterans, rookies, and the Comeback Kids. The Comeback Kids are three athletes that competed for a 2020 Tokyo Olympic roster spot, but ultimately fell short. All three were invited back to the team and decided to give the Olympics another shot.

Ryann Neushul, Stanford '25
Tara Prentice, UC Irvine '20
Jordan Raney, Stanford '18


What did you learn in the last extended quad?

In the last extended quad, spanning 2017-2021 due to the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, the Comeback Kids learned a lot from the veteran members of the team. Raney was the final player cut from the 2020 Olympic roster and that experience taught her that "you learn more from failure than from success." For Prentice, the team chemistry was striking. "I learned the importance of camaraderie and seeing the value that each person brings in and out of the water," she explained. "Seeing what value I can bring to the team every single day." That fact rang true for Neushul as well, whose older sister Jamie was on the roster. "That team was dominant. Back-to-back gold medals in Rio and Tokyo. They all knew each other really well and were always in sync. That taught me how important team water polo is, not individuals, it is a whole team."

Why did you come back for a shot at the 2024 Paris Olympics?

Despite the heartbreak of being cut from the 2020 Tokyo Olympic roster, all three athletes are back and fighting for a spot on the team heading to Paris this summer. "I had more love to give, more time to give to this sport," Prentice said. "Seeing your teammates accomplish great things and working towards a common goal has always really pushed me." As the youngest of the three Comeback Kids, Neushul knows roster spots for the Olympic Games are limited. "I have a burning passion for this sport and it did not die from [being cut in 2020]. It was difficult, definitely made me sad, it made me frustrated. All I want to do is play, but it's the Olympics [and] not everyone gets to go. You have to fight to make it and I knew I wanted it. I am grateful for the passion it gave me to keep pushing hard." Raney, a three-time World Champion, wanted to live without regrets. "If I did not try again, I would regret it for the rest of my life. So, no regrets."

What is your role to complement the Rookies and Veterans?

The Comeback Kids find themselves in an interesting middle ground among rookies and veterans. None have made an Olympic roster, yet all three have plenty of experience on the international stage. "We can connect newer individuals on this team to the giants who have won gold medals and have been with this team for years," Neushul said. "We can be a bridge between those two groups because when you are coming from different backgrounds and different years that you have played, it can be really hard to connect in the water." Raney agrees with Neushul as to the role these three play. "The comeback kids are the glue that keeps everyone together. Everyone is an important piece to this puzzle." Prentice always tries to bring a positive energy to the team. "I know how nerve racking it is when you are first joining this team. I always try to connect with the newcomers but also let them see that they belong and encourage them every step of the way. The veterans have been part of this process for so long that I'm just trying to build that trust and consistency in order to fill the shoes of the players that came before me."

What life lessons have you learned from your water polo journey?

Sport is a vehicle for learning life lessons and water polo is no different. "I learned the importance of having compassion and being kind," Prentice described. "It is really hard trying to push yourself every single day and there is a lot of failure along the way. You can use the support of your teammates and your coaches...believe in yourself and never doubt yourself." Neushul and Raney have both learned that things don't always go your way but that's no excuse to give up. "I have learned that sometimes you give it your best and you don't get what you want," Neushul explained. "You can't let that dampen your dream. You can't let that keep you from pushing forward and trying to be the best you can be." Raney echos that sentiment with a simple statement, "Hard work does not always pay off, but you still keep going, always!"