Johnny Hooper (water polo)

Johnny Hooper
Personal information
Full nameJonathan Masashi Hooper
Born (1997-06-24) 24 June 1997
Los Angeles, United States
OccupationsProfessional Water Polo
Business Management, Investment
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight182 lb (83 kg)
Sport
SportWater polo
PositionAttacker (WP)
College teamUniversity of California Berkeley
ClubPremier Water Polo Club
Coached byKirk Everist (Berkeley)
Brian Flacks (24 Olympics)
Medal record
Men's water polo
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place2024 ParisTeam
World Cup
Bronze medal – third place2023 Los AngelesTeam competition
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place2019 LimaTeam competition
Gold medal – first place2023 SantiagoTeam competition

Johnny Hooper (born 24 June 1997) is an American water polo player who competed for the University of California Berkeley and participated in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo[1] and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris where the U.S. men's team won a bronze medal. Hooper played professional water polo in Europe, and worked in the investment field for Goldman Sachs and March Capital.[2][3]

Early life

Johnny Hooper was born in Los Angeles on June 24, 1997 to American father Gary Hooper and Japanese mother Mimi Hooper.[1][4] He attended and played water polo representing Los Angeles's Harvard-Westlake School where he earned All American honors in four years, and was named a Division I Player of the year for the California Interscholastic Federation in 2015. Hooper was coached for a few years in water polo at Harvard-Westlake by Robert Lynn, a former 2000 Olympian who would serve as an Assistant Olympic Coach.[5] He was on the Harvard-Westlake team that had the distinction of capturing two successive Southern Section Division I championships. In his Senior year, Harvard-Westlake had an unbeaten season.[6][4]

In club play, he trained and competed for the Premier Water Polo Club where he earned honors as an All first team Junior Olympics player. He played with the Premier club in Junior Olympic competition at the ages of 12, 14, 16, and 18. The Los Angeles Daily News honored him as a 2014 Player of the Year.[6]

University of California, Berkeley

Hooper attended and played water polo for University of California, Berkeley from around 2014-2018 under Head Coach Kirk Everist where he helped lead the team to a Division I NCAA Championship in 2016. Hooper earned a B.S. in Business Administration at Berkeley.[3][7] where he had a collegiate career total of 245 goals, making him one of the highest scorers in program history. At UC Berkeley, Hooper usually played as an attacker, a versatile utility position on offense that can alternate between driver, wing, and even hole-set or center. [8][6] Though he spent much of his Senior year playing with the U.S. National Team, he earn Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) honors as a Player of the Week twice in October. As a Sophomore in 2016, he was the recipient of First Team All-American honors, and earn All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors. Hooper was a finalist for the 2018 Peter Cutino Award, which honors the best collegiate water polo player of the year.[4] As a Freshman in 2015, he scored 74 goals, 75 as a Sophomore in 2016, 47 as a Junior in 2017, and 49 as a Senior in 2018.[6]

Olympics

Hooper played with the U.S. Water polo team at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where the U.S. team placed sixth under U.S. Head Olympic Coach Dejan Udovičić, with Serbia taking the gold, Greece taking the silver, and Hungary taking the bronze.[9][10][11]

Four years later he played for the U.S. water polo team at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, where he won a team bronze medal in the Olympic water polo team competition. Cooper was coached by Head Olympic Head Coach Brian Flacks. Serbia, a pre-Olympic favorite, performed well in the semi-finals, defeating the U.S. team 10-6, leading to a match with Croatia in the final, where Serbia took the gold in a 13-11 gold medal win. In America's bronze medal match, the U.S. team defeated Hungary in a penalty shootout, making it to the podium for the bronze medal for the first time since the team won silver at the 2008 Beijing Games. Cooper scored six goals in Olympic play in 2024.[4][9]

Careers

He has played water polo professionally abroad for Palaio Faliro (Greece) and Telimar Palermo (Italy) from 2020-2024.[2] After the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, he worked for Goldman Sachs in San Francisco where he gained experience focusing on Mergers and Acquisitions, Initial Public Offerings, and financing. Ending his professional career in 2023-4, he worked for March Capital. To remain in condition, he has played water polo part time for the Olympic Club of the United States National League, and has considered training for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[2]

He has dated fashion model Summer Marshall.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 "Water Polo HOOPER Johnny". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  2. 1 2 3 "Men's National Team Athletes Set to Compete Profesionally". Retrieved April 30, 2026.
  3. 1 2 "March Capital, Johnny Hooper, Associate". Retrieved April 30, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "USA Water Polo, "2026 Men's Senior National Team Roster, Johnny Hooper"". Retrieved April 30, 2026.
  5. ↑ ""Harvard-Westlake Water Polo History including Coaches, Robert Lynn". Retrieved April 30, 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Johnny Hooper - Men's Water Polo". California Golden Bears Athletics. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  7. ↑ "U Cal Berkeley Men's Water Polo, Coach Kirk Everist". Retrieved April 30, 2026.
  8. ↑ "No. 1 Bears Open Season With Dominant Victories". California Golden Bears Athletics. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  9. 1 2 "Olympedia Biography, Johnny Hooper". Retrieved April 30, 2026.
  10. ↑ "USA Water Polo, Men's Senior National Team, 2024". Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  11. ↑ "ESPN Olympics, Dejan Udovicic is on a mission to make the U.S. a water polo power". Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Who is the Girlfriend of Johnny Hooper?". Sportskeeda. 2024-07-24. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
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