SAM GRAYELI

Steve Virgen

Sam Grayeli achieved great success in boys water polo at Costa Mesa

High.

As a junior, he helped lead the Mustangs capture the CIF Southern

Section Division III championship with a 14-9 title-game triumph over

Trabuco Hills.

In his senior season, he scored 148 goals and led Costa Mesa back

to the section title match, where he scored eight goals in a 12-11

loss to South Pasadena in sudden-death overtime.

He was named Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player and CIF

Division III Player of the Year.

At 5-foot-11, 155 pounds (his playing weight in high school),

Grayeli had to train hard to become great. But he also drew strength

and inspiration from the support of his family.

Grayeli was born in Iran. After the Islamic revolution in 1979,

his family left for Paris. His father, Mansour, was a colonel in the

Shah’s imperial guard and escaped the country to be with his wife,

Tara, and their two sons, Sam, and the youngest, Robert, who also

went on to star at Costa Mesa.

Grayeli’s father was granted political asylum from the United

States and the family moved to Houston when Sam was 6 years old. The

Grayelis also lived in Riverside before settling in Costa Mesa, where

Sam made a name for himself in the pool.

Yet for all the success he earned with the Mustangs, Grayeli

especially favored one highlight he experienced outside of Costa

Mesa. He earned a spot on the U.S. national youth team and was

considered by some to be one of the top 10 players in his age group

of 18-and-under. But because he was an Iranian citizen, he was not

allowed to be officially named on the national youth team.

“They went with the alternate; it was understandable,” said

Grayeli, who also took great pleasure in winning for the Mustangs.

“We won the Pacific Coast League all four years that I was there

[extending the program’s streak to eight straight league

championships].”

Grayeli graduated from Costa Mesa in 1994. He had played there

with his brother, who is 14 months younger. Sam played under Coach

Jason Lynch, who is now the head man for the Newport Harbor boys

water polo team, as well as being the assistant coach for the

Sailors’ girls squad.

Grayeli earned a scholarship to play for USC, but was a Trojan for

only three months, before transferring to UCLA.

“I wasn’t happy [at USC],” Grayeli said. “I’ve seen both sides of

it and I think UCLA was a better fit for me.”

In 1995 and 1996, the Bruins won the national championship and

Grayeli thoroughly enjoyed his time. He also took a bit of pride in

his decision to transfer to UCLA.

“I probably had my best games against USC,” Grayeli said. “It was

great to play against them. In the back of my mind, it wasn’t

intentional, but I think, subconsciously, I focused more on that

game.”

Grayeli earned an undergraduate degree in history and a minor in

business. He coached for one season as an assistant at UCLA, then

moved on to coach at Harvard-Westlake High for one year.

Ever since, he has been working in commercial real estate.

Grayeli, 27, the latest honoree of the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of

Fame, is single and lives in Brentwood.