A highly practical and readily available proline surrogate has been developed with improved solubility properties in common, nonpolar organic solvents. This sulfonamide-based catalyst has proven highly effective at facilitating enantioselective and diastereoselective aldol reactions with a range of substrates in nonpolar organic solvents in the presence of a single equivalent of water. Additionally, catalyst loading as low as 2 mol % can be employed in the absence of any organic solvent with continued high levels of selectivity.