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Senior Logan Powell poses in front of the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center pool. The captain from

Goofy. Laid-back. Creative.

These are not adjectives you would typically use to describe one of the best athletes in the nation for a particular sport, but all are adjectives used to describe Logan Powell by those who know him best. His coach Adam Krikorian used the term “goofy” far more frequently than the others, and as he searched for the perfect word to illustrate the many facets of the 6-foot-4-inch senior, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Logan is a funny guy,” Krikorian said. “He is definitely not quiet and is definitely goofy; he really makes me laugh. I am always giving him a hard time for anything I can think of.”

During the interview with Powell, Krikorian held true to his word: He made it a point to mention a looming engagement with Powell’s longtime girlfriend, former women’s water polo player Kristina Kunkel. Although false, it definitely got a rise out of Powell. He bluntly encouraged the coach to leave the area and – though not denying the future possibility – assured me that no ring shopping had been done.

Powell and Kunkel met in high school through mutual friends in the water polo scene, but did not really get to know each other until starting at UCLA in 2002.

“We’ve been dating for a couple of years now,” Powell said. “I knew her a little bit before, but not really.”

Though relatively mum on the nature of their relationship, he was far from ashamed. He beamed during the brief conversation, giving full permission to disclose the actual facts, making a point to distinguish between those and the ones fabricated by Krikorian.

Even after the laughter subsided, Krikorian had nothing but good things to say about Powell.

“Logan is very creative with his learning,” Krikorian said. “He has developed his game slowly over the course of four and a half years to the point where now I can say he is one of the best players in the country.”

That’s a lot coming from someone who has coached many outstanding players on many national championship teams. Powell’s performances so far this season have shown him to be worthy of the praise.

“He understands a lot of the things that are really hard to teach,” Krikorian said. “He leads by example but mostly through communication. In a lot of ways he is the point guard of the team because he sees the game so well, and because he is so intelligent I have a lot of faith in him to convey his thoughts to everyone.”

Fellow senior and co-captain Will Didinger deemed Powell as more laid-back than anything else. Although he agreed with the goofiness, he focused on Powell’s lighthearted demeanor.

“He’s a pretty carefree guy,” Didinger said. “He’s fun to be around and always has a smile on his face. He likes to have a good time and always finds the lighter sides of situations.”

And as Powell’s roommate for almost two years and close friend for five, Didinger is qualified to attest to Powell’s personality. The two knew each other prior to UCLA, playing on junior and youth national teams, frequently coming in contact with one another. But it wasn’t until freshman year as redshirting Bruins that their friendship began to blossom.

The pair’s mothers are even friends. As “team Moms,” Pam Powell and Julie Didinger are in charge of planning the barbecues that follow every home game. Logan’s parents, Pam and Rick, can almost always be spotted in the bleachers throughout the season.

The water polo senior undoubtedly developed his character at an early age as he grew up in the self-proclaimed “relatively unknown, small surf-town” of San Clemente. Though the captain admits the town has developed substantially since then, growing up on the beach in the southern California nook helped foster his laid-back personality and left him a great deal of room for creative development.

Along with his parents, Powell grew up with two older brothers, Ian and Shane, with whom he stays in frequent contact.

“I am really close with my brothers,” he said. “We call each other a lot and all that kind of stuff and we hang out all the time, going on trips with my dad and stuff.

“I am a lot closer with them now more than when I was a kid because they were a lot older.”

Powell attributes his early start in water polo to his brothers’ examples, a familiar feeling for anyone with older siblings. He began playing on youth teams during sixth grade while his older brothers played in high school. And he pretty much took off from there.

“I did the whole youth team thing and all that,” Powell said. “Then Adam recruited me and here I am.”