Adam Wright

Adam Wright begins his 18^th season as the head coach of UCLA men’s water polo in 2026, holding an overall record of 397-70 (.850) and an MPSF mark of 77-26 (.748). Wright, who starred as a player for the team he now directs, has served as both head coach and an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s water polo teams at his alma mater. He was head coach of both programs concurrently from 2017-2026. The 2024 calendar year featured NCAA championship wins by both Wright-helmed teams.

Inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 2020 and the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame in 2019, Wright has helped UCLA collect 11 NCAA championships: six as men’s head coach (2025, 2024, 2020, 2017, 2015 and 2014), three as a student-athlete (2000, 1999 and 1996), one as women’s head coach (2024) and one as a women’s assistant coach (2009). He also earned an Olympic silver medal in 2008. Out of the pool, Wright’s men’s teams have posted perfect Academic Progress Rate scores of 1,000 in 2022, 2016, 2015 and 2014.

UCLA has won back-to-back NCAA championships going into 2026, beating crosstown rival USC each year. In fact, all six Bruin titles claimed under Wright have come opposite the Trojans. The latest came in a thriller at Stanford’s Avery Aquatic Center, where UCLA took down the tournament’s top seed in an 11-10 thriller that featured a buzzer-beating game winner by Frederico Jucá Carsalade. The NCAA trophy was No. 125 in UCLA athletic department history. Wright became a five-time winner of both the ACWPC National (also 2020, 2017, 2015 and 2014) and MPSF Coach of the Year (also 2024, 2023, 2017 and 2011) awards. For good measure, Wright was tabbed UniUSA Male Coach of the Year in 2025 after leading Team USA men’s and women’s water polo – both made up entirely of Bruins – to silver medals at the 2025 FISU World University Games.

Each of the past two years has also seen a Bruin bring home the Peter J. Cutino Award. Ryder Dodd claimed both in his first two seasons, becoming Wright’s third different winner and UCLA’s fourth on the men’s side. Nicolas Saveljic won in 2021 and Garrett Danner collected the hardware in 2016. Ryder Dodd in 2024 also became the first player in MPSF history to be named both Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. Wright has also produced five MPSF Player of the Year awards, with Danner accounting for two.

The Bruins also finished 5-1 in MPSF play in 2024, leading to the league's top seed in the MPSF Championship Tournament. As the top-ranked team for the majority of the season, UCLA posted 20 wins over top-15 ranked opponents, 13 wins over the top 10 and six over the top five. The Bruins allowed double-digit goals in just nine of their 28 contests, while reaching that threshold offensively in all but one game. UCLA placed a league-high nine players on the 2024 All-MPSF teams and became the first in league history to sweep the three major awards for two consecutive years.

The Bruins had the best record in the country in 2023 at 26-3 (.897), but fell one win short of the NCAA championship, falling to California 13-11 in the final. UCLA opened the season with 24 consecutive victories, tying for the third-best mark in school history (1968-1970). Wright guided the Bruins to an unbeaten 23-0 regular season, the first undefeated regular season in the MPSF since UCLA's 2015 team. Eight of UCLA's wins were against MPSF West teams, including seven against top five competition, and 16 of the 23 overall wins came against top-10 opponents. The Bruins scored in double digits in all 23 contests and held opponents to single digits 16 times. UCLA placed an MPSF-high nine players on the All-MPSF teams in 2023, including four on the first team.

The Bruins won their 12th NCAA championship in program history in 2020 (on March 21, 2021) with a 7-6 win at USC to end the COVID-shortened season with a 9-7 record overall (5-5 in the MPSF). Saveljic paced UCLA and the MPSF in goals (37) and led all players in steals (30). He converted eight goals in a 15-13 win against top-ranked Stanford (Feb. 7), falling just one short of tying the MPSF record. Savaljic was Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Championships and was voted winner of the both major national player-of-the-year awards. UCLA won its fourth MPSF Tournament championship under Wright the following season (also 2015, 2011 and 2009).

The 2017 season was supposed to be a rebuilding year for UCLA, which lost eight seniors in 2015 and another nine in 2016 to graduation. UCLA had six true freshmen on its roster playing major minutes and also had a redshirt sophomore goalkeeper playing for the first time as a full-time starter in NCAA competition. Despite the fact they were picked to finish fourth by league coaches, the Bruins matured into a strong defensive unit that held the nation's top offensive team in their home pool to just five goals, winning the national title with a 7-5 win at USC. UCLA finished the year 21-4.

In 2016, the Bruins completed a stellar season (25-3) that saw the squad set NCAA, UCLA and MPSF records for consecutive victories that dated back to 2014. On Oct. 8, the Bruins eclipsed their program’s mark and tied the NCAA’s of 51 consecutive wins with a 9-5 decision over No. 4 Pacific. They made history again the next day, posting a 15-8 victory at No. 11 UC Davis to set a new NCAA standard. Before it was all said and done, the Bruins ran their record-setting winning streak to 57 games while also setting a UCLA and MPSF all-time league winning streak of 26 games.

The 2015 and 2014 teams seized back-to-back NCAA titles, going 30-0 in the latter campaign. The undefeated run was a first for UCLA since 1969, when the Bruins went 19-0, and the fourth all time in NCAA men’s water polo’s modern history. The 2014 group also went undefeated in league play, going 8-0, and finished 29-3 overall. A UCLA team had not gone unbeaten in MPSF play since 2004.

UCLA won MPSF Tournament titles in 2011 and 2009, advancing to the NCAA title match both seasons. The 2011 Bruins were 24-5 overall and won the MPSF championship with three consecutive overtime wins, each by one goal. UCLA’s sudden-victory, 10-9 overtime triumph over USC in the championship game came before a standing-room-only crowd at the Bruins’ Spieker Aquatics Center. UCLA advanced to the 2011 NCAA title game with a 10-1 win against UC San Diego, its best defensive effort in any NCAA Tournament match since 1971. The Bruins lost a 7-4 decision to USC in the championship match.

In Wright’s first season as head coach, hard work, discipline and a strong finish at the MPSF Tournament culminated in UCLA’s first conference tournament title since 2000. After opening MPSF play with consecutive losses, Wright knew that the Bruins would have to win the MPSF Tournament to have any chance at playing for a national title. He adjusted the team’s practice and conditioning regimen, preparing the Bruins for the three-day tournament setting. The fourth-seeded Bruins surged in the conference tournament, opening with an 8-5 win against No. 5 seed Pepperdine. They downed top seed and tournament host USC 10-6 the next day. The Bruins would claim the tournament title with a 10-7 win versus third-seeded Cal.

Under Wright’s guidance, 46 Bruins – including 29 first-teamers – have secured 100 ACWPC All-America honors. Jake Cavano was honored five times (COVID year), while Danner, Tommy Gruwell, Cristiano Mirarchi, Paul Reynolds and Saveljic received four selections each. Wright has also produced seven Olympians for Team USA. In 2016, UCLA saw Josh Samuels and Alex Roelse don the Stars and Stripes. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the Bruins were represented by Alex Wolf and Max Irving. In 2024, UCLA’s Chase Dodd, Ryder Dodd, and Irving competed at the Paris Olympics.

Wright served as an assistant coach with the UCLA men’s and women’s water polo teams during the 2008-09 school year. He helped guide the women’s program to an unprecedented fifth consecutive NCAA championship in May 2009. Following the 2008 men’s water polo season, Wright played an integral role in securing the top men’s recruiting class in the nation.

Wright got his coaching start as an assistant coach with the varsity boys’ and girls’ water polo teams at Wilson High School in Long Beach, Calif. from 2001-04. He helped coach the boys’ program to four consecutive CIF Division I and Moore League championships. The girls’ team won a pair of Moore League titles.

Following his collegiate career, Wright competed in the European League (Italy and Russia) for Bissolati Cremona, Civitavecchia SNC, Nuoto Catania and Dynamo Moscow from 2004-08. He competed for the U.S. National Team in all major tournaments from 2001-2011, helping lead Team USA to the gold medal at the 2003 and 2007 Pan American Games (Rio de Janeiro) as well as the 2005 ASUA Cup (Mexico City). He participated in the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Olympic Games, helping lead Team USA to a seventh-place finish in 2004 (Athens) and the runner-up showing in 2008 (Beijing). Wright continued training with the USA National Team while serving as UCLA’s head coach and retired as a player after competing at the 2012 Olympics in London.

Wright was a four-year letterwinner at UCLA from 1997-2000, helping lead the Bruins to back-to-back NCAA titles in 1999 and 2000. He redshirted the 1996 NCAA championship-winning season. As a senior in 2000, Wright scored 39 goals before earning honorable mention All-America acclaim and second-team All-MPSF honors. In 1999, he secured third-team All-America and second-team All-MPSF honors. That season, Wright led UCLA in assists (27) and was second in total points (48) and steals (39). He totaled 27 goals as a sophomore, making the All-America second team, and debuted with 26 goals and honorable mention All-America and All-MPSF nods.

Wright graduated from UCLA in 2001 with degrees in history and sociology. He is married to Kerry Norris, a former UCLA women’s soccer player. The couple resides with their daughter, Rome, and son, Zsolt, in Los Angeles.