Wonder who will take over the Womens program…I know Jason was an awesome coach!
Who would be the top candidates for this?
Some names I’d keep an eye on outside of Jason: Dan Klatt (UCI), Natalie Benson (Fresno State), James Robinson (Hawaii).
Klatt could be looking for a move to a bigger program. Benson played at UCLA, was a 3x national champion and Cutino Award winner, and has elevated the Fresno State program. Robinson was an assistant under Wright from 2019 to 2022, played at UCLA and won three national championships, and has done a phenomenal job at Hawaii.
Long shots: Coralie Simmons (Cal), Dustin Litvak (Princeton)
I can’t see Dan Klatt leaving UCI, due to the fact that he also coaches the men there. Natalie Benson has done a great job at Fresno State and would be a great option, if she is looking to move on, and it would be very hard for her to not consider UCLA. James Robinson would also make a lot os sense, plus he would reunite with a couple of his Hawaii players that left for UCLA.He seems like a great young, up and coming coach.
Good move by Wright. It’s too much coaching both programs and isn’t fair to the players. Time to bring back the other Adam
One of the best jobs in the country. With talent that UCLA has had, they should have had more than one championship in the recent years.
Some possibilities:
Dusty Litvak
Natalie Benson
James Robinson
Coralie Simmons
All great possible hires.
Based on this list, I think Natalie is too settled in Fresno, I know her family is settled there so would be a big ask to up and leave. Maybe, she continues to build up Fresno and then takes over the USAWNT once AK is done.
Dan Klatt coaches both men and women at UCI so financially he would have to take a pay cut, so I think they may go with Robinson, he’s young & played at UCLA, alongside being an asst coach there before he took the Hawaii job, so knows the UCLA system well.
My question about Coralie, would be what is she getting at UCLA that she’s not getting at Cal? She’s established herself there now and looks to have a real shot at winning the NC next season. I know she is a former Bruin, but can’t see it being that better of a job for her.
My assumption is that maybe they are moving on from Jason Falitz? I felt he did a good job this year with UCLA, and he’s a long time Adam Wright asst so he knows AW’s system better than most.
Adam Krikorian doesn’t seem right to me, I doubt after coaching internationally for all those years he wants to come back to College and deal with recruiting and the ever changing landscape of college sports, I just can’t see it happening, but his kids are older and entering College age so he might take it for a few years as a nice little top up before he retires? Who knows!
If its James, then that would decimate an already decimated Hawaii team…
I read that Hawaii is looking for a new Assistant Coach so Brook Maxson may be an option.
Any word on the coaching search? Is Falitz still on staff for the Men’s 2026 season?
Here’s a copy of the job announcement:
Would Ethan Demato consider this job?
The job listing is no longer available. They’re likely currently in the midst of the interview process. I would assume that Adam will have a big say in who gets this job. I have heard that Falitz wants the job and has applied for it, but it remains unclear whether he’s the top candidate. If he doesn’t get the job, I’d be shocked if he stayed on the staff of either the men’s or women’s team.
@H17Polo Who do you think are the top candidates for the job? Why would Falitz not be a top candidate?
The listing said that a Bachelor’s Degree is required. I am unclear if Falitz has one. That could be a potential barrier, otherwise I’d assume he was the favorite and this was all just essentially due diligence.
I just think that if they were sure about Falitz, they could’ve given him the job without opening up the position for applications. They have zero responsibility to open up a job posting if they are hiring within. In college sports, an interim head coach has frequently received the HC designation without a formal job posting. If what @martinsf pointed out is true about Falitz lacking a bachelor’s degree, that could be a barrier to him getting this role and potentially an explanation as to why he was not the lone interim coach last season. Either way, I think we will know a lot more in the next week.
Just want to be clear that I don’t know if he has one or if he doesn’t, but that it could explain a lot if he does not.
That’s weird to me…why would Adam have any say in the coach? Isn’t he the one that walked from the position? A new coach that is separate from the men’s team would want to establish her or his own culture and identity outside of Adam I would imagine, isn’t that the point?
You’re on a roll. Why would anyone ever want Adam Wright’s opinion on water polo or coaching? How many reasons do you want?