Matt is entering his first season at Mercyhurst University. Previously, he was attending the University of California Santa Cruz where he met Coach MacDougall.
In ‘22 and ‘23, Matt was playing for the team at UC Santa Cruz where he led the team in assists and steals. In 2023, Matt led the Banana Slugs to a 5th place finish at the conference tournament.
Epstein was chosen to represent the United States for the 2019 European Maccabi Games in Budapest, Hungary. USA advanced to the gold medal match where Epstein finished with a hat trick, including the opening goal for team USA. After the United States team took home the silver medal, he finished the tournament as the 2nd leader in assists and 3rd in goals amongst team USA. In 2022, he was named as an alternate for the Maccabiah.
In 2017 and 2018, Matt played water polo and swam for Los Angeles Valley College under head coach Jim McMillan. Each season, they were crowned champions of the Western State Conference, marking the 4th and 5th consecutive championships for LAVC. At the beginning of the 2018 season, the LAVC Monarchs started off strong by breaking the 64 game win streak of the defending state champions, Golden West College. The team went undefeated in the WSC, including a convincing victory to secure the conference championship tournament. A 2nd place finish at the Southern California regional tournament granted them a bid to compete in the California State Championship tournamnet where they ultimately lost a close game in the final to Golden West, earning the title of state runner-ups. In 2025, the 2018 Men’s Water Polo team is set to be inducted into the Los Angeles Valley College Hall of Fame.
Matt played water polo and swam for El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills, California. In his senior year as team captain, he led Los Angeles City Section in goals, assists, and steals, earning him the city’s Most Valuable Player award. After his time at LAVC, Matt returned to ECR as an assistant coach for boys and girls water polo and swimming.
