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+1 Pt | Ashleigh Johnson (USA)
United States National Team Player. Club: N/A. Position: Goalkeeper
In a World Championship tournament dominated by offense, American goalkeeper Ashley Johnson was still the class of the field, even if the American result was not as normal. Johnson led all players (with a minimum of 40 minutes played) with a 68% save percentage at Worlds. While she has stepped away from club competition, she is still the best at her position in the world.
+2 Pts | Rita Keszthelyi (HUN)
Hungarian National Team Player. Clubs: Mataro. Position: Attacker
At the risk of focusing this list too heavily on goal scoring, Rita Keszthelyi had 19 at the World Championships, and at the age of 31 is showing no signs of slowing down. She had 32 goals in 10 games in last year’s Champions League, and already has 22 in 6 games in this year’s competition.
+3 Pts | Simone Van de Kraats (NED)
Netherlands National Team Player. Club: Mataro. Position: Right Wing.
Van de Kraats was the top goal scorer of the 2020 Summer Olympics at only 19-years-old, and that development has really continued into 2023 - a year where she really improved her consistency throughout the year. She also shot an unmatched 61% during the World Championships.
+4 Pts | Maggie Steffens (USA)
United States National Team Player. Club: Sabadell. Position: Utility
In a year where the American women saw a disappointing (and frankly historic) quarterfinals exit from the World Championship tournament after winning four consecutive titles, there will be plenty of internal examination for the Americans. Steffens, however, was certainly not the problem, scoring 4 goals in that loss only 7 shots and playing all 32 minutes of that match. She also led CN Sabadell to the Champions League title in Europe.
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+5 Pts | Judith Forca (ESP)
Spanish National Team Player. Club: Sabadell. Position: Right winger
An absolute goal scoring machine at all levels, Forca scored 23 goals at the World Championships, including 5 to lead all players in the gold medal match against the Netherlands. She was also the top scorer for Sabadell in the Champions League final, picking up 3 in a game where goals were hard to come by. She also has 15 goals already in just 3 matches in the Spanish top division early in the new season. Forca was a Forza in 2023 that couldn’t be stopped.
+1 Pts | Hannes Daube (USA)
United States National Team Player. Club: Jug AO. Position: Driver
Born in the US to a German father and New Zealand mother, Daube is leading the revival of the American side, scoring the second-most goals of any player at the 2023 World Championships (22). He’s only 23 years old, and has all the potential to wind up at the top of this list at some point in his career.
+2 Pts | Felipe Perrone (ESP)
Spanish National Team Player. Club: Barceloneta. Position: Driver
Old reliable.
+3 Pts | Alvaro Granados (ESP)
Spanish National Team Player. Club: Novi Beograd. Position: Attacker
Was he always efficient? No. But Granados was the engine behind powerful Spanish and Novi Beograd offenses this season, including leading the Champions League with 43 goals and being named the Finals MVP in spite of a runner-up performance for his team. At only 25, he’s got some growth left in his game, but he can score from almost anywhere in the pool and sure is fun to watch.
+4 Pts | Marco Del Lungo (ITA)
Italian National Team Player. Club: Pro Recco. Position: Goalkeeper
Italy finished only 5th at the World Championships, but that was not due to failures in the net from Del Lungo. Italy only gave up more than 6 goals twice in the tournament, and one of those matches saw Del Lungo’s backup take mop-up duty in a 16-9 drubbing of France in the 5th place game. That followed a brilliant Champions League performance that saw him hold FTC-Telekom to just 4 goals in the quarterfinals as Pro Recco marched to victory.
