Lyons Township High School senior girls water polo player Maya Mladjan is one of the state’s top defenders. Her 5-foot-11 frame patrols the hole in front of the goal to often thwart the opponents’ top scorer. Within the blink of an eye, Mladjan races to the other end of the pool, fueling the Lions’ offense as one of the state’s top scorers. As a senior, team captain, four-year starter and University of Michigan recruit, she is trying to help the Lions to their third top-four state trophy in the past four seasons.
The Brookfield resident is especially invigorated after missing nine of the first 12 matches because of a concussion, illness and spring break.
“I’m so excited I’m here. I’m not getting sick or concussed,” she exclaimed after contributing to the Lions’ 14-7 home victory over rival Hinsdale Central, April 16. “Generally, the season’s going really well but I feel like I’m not where I want to be right now. I had a long break. I’ve been in and out of the water so personally I feel like it’s not been according to plan. It’s kind of stressful but I think the team is doing really well.”
The Lions (12-3-1, 3-0 in West Suburban Conference) again are among the state’s top teams, scoring between nine and 20 goals in 12 games.
Their only losses were to Libertyville 8-7, Saturday, Evanston 6-1, April 5, and Stevenson 18-9, March 15, with a 5-5 tie against St. Ignatius, April 5. Stevenson beat Evanston for last year’s state championship. The Lions were third.
Even with her absences, Mladjan has 37 goals, nine assists and 23 steals to join juniors Bella Recker (team-high 49 goals, 18 assists, 28 steals), Bebe Wright (21 goals, team-high 41 assists and 41 steals) and Avery Watanabe (10 goals, 16 assists), freshman Maddie Wieczorkiewicz (20 goals, 18 assists) and sophomore Eileen Cavaliere (11 goals, 8 assists) as top offensive players.
“Maya’s a huge contributor in and out of the water. She’s a very positive person. She’s very uplifiting of her teammates and she holds herself to a high standard, which leads to her really performing in the water,” Recker said. “In my eyes, she’s one of our keystone players. She is just very, very vital to this team.”
Mladjan led the 2024 Lions with 122 goals and 52 ejections drawn and added 40 assists and 68 steals. She was named first-team all-state after being second-team all-state in 2023 and third team all-state in 2022. This year, she’s contributing more to the defense, which has allowed five goals or fewer five times.
Lyons Township’s Bebe Wright (13) tries to get a shot past Hinsdale Central’s Allie Tonjes (1) during a West Suburban Conference match Wednesday, April 16, 2025 in Western Springs. | Steve Johnston 
Lyons Township’s Bella Recker (3) swims with the ball on a break away against Hinsdale Central during a West Suburban Conference match Wednesday, April 16, 2025 in Western Springs. | Steve Johnston 
Lyons Township’s Avery Watanabe (10) swims with the ball while defended by Hinsdale Central’s Rashida Moosabhoy (19) and Sophia Warren (2) during a West Suburban Conference match Wednesday, April 16, 2025 in Western Springs. | Steve Johnston 
Lyons Township’s Maya Mladjan (9) defends Hinsdale Central’s Teagan Manning (10) during a West Suburban Conference match Wednesday, April 16, 2025 in Western Springs. | Steve Johnston
Senior goalie Delaney Judkins (128 saves), the other defensive veteran, missed the Hinsdale Central match after her concussion suffered in practice. Recker and Judkins were second-team all-state in 2024. Mladjan, Judkins and senior Sarsha O’Sullivan are team captains.
“[Mladjan is] covering a lot of water, but her main position is defensive hole,” LTHS coach Megan Jacobs said.
“She’s our leading scorer. She’s our leading defender. She’s everywhere. She definitely directs people in the water, tells them where to go, what to do because she has so much experience. She’s definitely a leader in the water.”
She missed the 9-6 home victory over Sandburg match March 17 after suffering her concussion earlier that day. She was inside her parked car at the north campus when another vehicle backed into hers. Mladjan’s head struck a window. As a sophomore, she suffered her first concussion during the closing seconds of the Lions’ two-goal victory in the WSC Tournament final.
As a result, Mladjan had to sit out sectionals the following weekend. In the sectional final, the 26-5 Lions lost to Mother McAuley 13-11, a match they probably could have won with her presence.
“[This concussion] was very unfortunate but I’m glad it happened earlier rather than later,” she said.
At Michigan, Mladjan will major in biology or biomedical engineering with plans to enter pre-med. The recruiting process ended with her verbal commitment in early August.
“I still subscribe to be the best version of myself. That’s always in the back of my mind, but (committing early) was still less stress,” she said. “I looked for an athletically challenging program. I feel like that was one of my top priorities. I love water polo. I knew Michigan would offer that but I feel like they value their academics a lot so in that aspect I felt like it was one of the best choices.”
Mladjan will be reunited with older sister Emilia, a 2023 LTHS graduate. Emilia is a Michigan women’s water polo sophomore with 16 goals and three assists this season for the Wolverines (9-6).
“Obviously, I love that she’s there but honestly I felt like [Michigan] was the best choice for me,” she said. “She’s there and she had some effect but the majority of the decision was my own.”