4 minute read
UCLA Coaching History
Guy Baker
Guy Baker led the UCLA men’s and women’s water polo programs to seven national titles in a 10-year span. He left the water polo programs in January 2001 to become head coach of the U.S. Women’s Water Polo National Team, a position he held through the spring of 2009. Baker established UCLA as the dominant men's program of the 1990s with four men's NCAA championships (1995, 1996, 1999, 2000) and three national collegiate women’s titles (1996, 1997, 1998). He earned National Coach of the Year honors four times (1995-96 men, 1997-98 women) and coached the Women’s National Team at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Baker led the 2006-07 Women's National Team to gold medals at the 2007 World Championships, the 2007 World League Super Final and the 2007 Pan-American Games, where the team secured its qualifying spot for the 2008 Olympic games. Baker’s combined record at UCLA was 265-97 overall and 64-28 in league games. Three of his athletes were each named National Player of the Year twice – Coralie Simmons, Sean Kern, and Matt Swanson. In all, Bruin athletes secured All-America honors 52 times and eight players competed in the Olympics under Baker.
Advertisement
Adam Krikorian
Adam Krikorian served as head coach of the men’s water polo team from 1999-2008 and as head coach of the women’s program from 1999-2009. Krikorian now serves as the head coach of the U.S. Women’s Water Polo National Team. He guided Team USA to its fi rst-ever Olympic gold medal in women’s water polo in 2012 in London and followed that with another gold in 2016 in Rio. As head coach of both UCLA water polo programs, he helped lead the Bruins to 11 national championships (three men’s, eight women’s). He coached the men’s water polo team to NCAA titles in 1999, 2000 and 2004. As head coach of the women’s program, Krikorian guided UCLA to the 2000 National Collegiate Championship and NCAA titles in 2001 and 2003 before reeling off fi ve consecutive NCAA championships (2005-09). Between the two UCLA water polo programs, Krikorian coached six Peter J. Cutino Award recipients, seven National Player of the Year selections and 12 Olympians. He led the UCLA men’s and women’s teams to national championships in the same academic year on three occasions (1999-00, 2000-01 and 2004-05). Krikorian assumed head coaching duties of the U.S. Women’s Water Polo National Team following the 2009 collegiate spring season and helped guide Team USA to the gold medal at the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome. Krikorian was a four-year water polo letterwinner at UCLA (1992-95), helping lead the men’s program to the 1995 NCAA Championship at the conclusion of his senior season (the program’s fi rst national title since 1972).
Brandon Brooks
Brandon Brooks served as head coach of the women's water polo team from 2010-2017. During his head coaching tenure, Brooks led UCLA to four MPSF Championships and three runner-up fi nishes at the NCAA Championships. He compiled an overall coaching record of 202-41 and was named the 2012, 2015 and 2017 MPSF Coach of the Year. As an assistant coach for both the UCLA men’s and women’s teams from 2006-09, Brooks helped lead the Bruin women to three NCAA Championships. He also served as the undergraduate assistant coach when the men’s team won the 2004 NCAA title. As a student-athlete at UCLA, Brooks was a four-time All-American goalkeeper and led the Bruins to back-to-back NCAA championships in 1999 and 2000. He also excelled internationally with the USA Men’s National Team as a two-time Olympian and 2008 Olympic silver medal winner. Guy Baker (1995-98)
Year Record NCAA Finish MPSF Record MPSF Finish
1995 13-11 — — — 1996 29-1 1st 7-0 2nd 1997 31-1 1st 6-0 1st 1998 35-1 1st 9-0 1st Totals 108-14 22-0
Adam Krikorian (1999-2009)
Year Record NCAA Finish MPSF Record MPSF Finish
1999 24-10 — 6-3 3rd 2000 30-5 1st 8-1 3rd 2001 18-4 1st 9-1 2nd 2002 22-4 2nd 10-1 2nd 2003 23-4 1st 8-2 3rd 2004 22-5 — 9-2 3rd 2005 33-0 1st 12-0 1st 2006 29-4 1st 11-1 2nd 2007 28-2 1st 11-1 2nd 2008 33-0 1st 12-0 1st 2009 25-6 1st 5-2 3rd Totals 287-44 101-14
Brandon Brooks (2010-17)
Year Record NCAA Finish MPSF Record MPSF Finish
2010 22-8 5th 4-3 3rd 2011 26-7 3rd 4-3 3rd 2012 23-4 3rd 5-2 2nd 2013 28-7 — 3-3 4th 2014 27-5 2nd 5-1 2nd 2015 26-3 2nd 5-1 1st 2016 26-5 3rd 5-1 2nd 2017 24-2 2nd 6-0 1st Totals 202-41 37-14
Adam Wright (2018-Present)
Year Record NCAA Finish MPSF Record MPSF Finish
2018 23-8 T-3rd 2-3 3rd 2019 24-7 T-3rd 4-2 3rd 2020 19-2 n/a 2-0 n/a Totals 66-17 8-5
All-Time Assistant Coaches
Matt Armato 2000 Sam Bailey 2008 Brandon Brooks 2007-09 Molly Cahill 2010-17 Matt Flesher 2007-09 Sam Grayeli 1999 Kodi Hill 2018-19 Kelly Heuchan 2003 Adam Krikorian 1997, 1998 Christopher Lee 2019-present Nicolle Payne 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006 James Robinson 2020-present Coralie Simmons 2007 Leslie Storey 1995, 1996 Catharine von Schwarz 2004 Adam Wright 2009
UCLA Women’s Water Polo Coaching Legacy
Coach Years League Overall NCAA Titles
Guy Baker 1995-1998 22-0 108-14 3 Adam Krikorian 1999-2009 101-14 287-44 8 Brandon Brooks 2010-2017 37-14 202-41 Adam Wright 2018-Present 8-5 66-17
