Pepperdine University Men's Water Polo

Merrill Moses, a three-time Olympian and former All-American and national champion water polo player for the Waves, returned to Pepperdine in 2012 to join the coaching staff and was elevated to head coach in March 2024. He had previously been promoted to the position of associate head coach prior to the 2017 season. The 2026 campaign will be his 15th on the staff and third as head coach. Through two seasons, Moses has guided the Waves to 38-19 overall record with back-to-back WCC semifinal appearances. In 2025, the Waves finished the season ranked No. 9 team in the final national rankings. Pepperdine earned 11 ranked wins on the season and saw a conference-high seven receive postseason recognition from the West Coast Conference. In Moses' first season at the helm of the program in 2024, the Waves tabbed a 21-8 overall record including a 5-1 mark in WCC play while finishing at No. 13 in the final national rankings. Over the past 14 years, the Waves are 217-157 (.580) and have won four conference titles, including a WCC regular season crown in its inaugural season in 2023. As the interim co-head coach of the Waves in 2012, Moses helped Pepperdine to an 11-13 overall record. The team achieved a national ranking as high as #3 during the regular season. Upon the return of Dr. Terry Schroeder as head coach, Moses moved into the position of assistant coach in 2013. Moses played for Schroeder both with the Waves and the U.S. National Team. With Moses on staff, the Waves won the inaug

Mike Tragitt enters his 13th season on staff with Pepperdine water polo and first as Associate Head Coach in 2025. Tragitt was elevated to this role in August 2025 after spending the previous nine seasons as an assistant coach. The Waves have posted a 143-77 overall record in the eight seasons with Tragitt as assistant coach including seven campaigns with a winning record. In his previous 11 seasons total on staff, the Waves have finished in top-13 in the final CWPA rankings in all 11 years. Pepperdine has had a pair of 25-plus win seasons during his tenure including the 2019 campaign which saw the Waves win the Gold Coast Conference and reach the NCAA semifinals. Tragitt graduated in 2013 with a degree in history. In 2014, he took over the role of director of operations, a position he held for two years. He was promoted to assistant coach in 2017. Since then, the Waves have gone 122-69 (.674) and won three conference titles. Tragitt played for the Waves from 2009-13 and posted career totals of 35 goals, 76 assists and 34 steals. He appeared in 98 of 99 matches over his four years. Tragitt is a native of Clovis, Calif., who graduated from Clovis High School in 2009. He was an All-American water polo player for the school.

A two-time All-American and team captain, Pepperdine water polo alum Spencer Hamby (‘13) joined his alma mater as an assistant coach in summer 2024. Hamby returns to Pepperdine after enjoying a seven-year professional career in Germany from 2013-20, including a two-year stint where he helped the Berlin-based club Wasserfreunde Spandau ‘04 win two Bundesliga Championships. After his professional career overseas, Hamby moved back to the United States and served as the head water polo coach for the Garland Independent School District, located in Dallas, Texas, in 2023. There, he was also the coach of the Southwest Zone Olympic Development Program Cadet Team and was named the top coach for the Cadet division at the USA Water Polo Olympic Developmental Championships in 2024. As a player, Hamby was a two-time ACWPC All-American while playing with current assistant coach Mike Tragitt and under Moses from 2009-12. Hamby was an immediate contributor for the Waves, scoring over 20 goals each in his final three seasons while serving as a team captain as a junior and as a senior. During his time in college, Hamby also earned spots on Team USA in 2009 and 2011 at the Junior World Championships. All told, Hamby scored 73 goals — including five games with a hat trick or better — and added 26 steals during his collegiate career.

One of the most iconic figures in the history of American water polo, Dr. Terry Schroeder returned for his second stint in Malibu in 2013 and enters his 33rd season overall on staff with Pepperdine water polo and first as senior advisor in 2025. The 1997 NCAA championship-winning coach finished his 31st season as head coach in 2023 before stepping down in March 2024 to serve as Associate Head Coach, a position he held for one season. In his first 20-year term (1986-2005) as Pepperdine’s head coach, Schroeder became one of the top collegiate water polo coaches in the nation. After coaching an unheralded USA squad to the silver medal at the 2008 Olympics and again leading the Americans at the 2012 Games, he earned the right to be known as one of the best coaches in the world. He was also one of the best players the sport has ever seen, as he served as the U.S. team captain for a decade and helped the Americans to a pair of silver medals. The Waves have enjoyed tremendous success under Schroeder. Pepperdine has earned nine NCAA Championships berths and claimed the program’s first-ever national championship in 1997. The 1997 squad went 25-3 (.893) and posted the best winning percentage in school history. The campaign ended with an 8-7 overtime win over local rival USC in the NCAA title game, held at the International Swimming Hall of Fame Aquatics Complex in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Not only was Schroeder the 1997 National Coach of the Year, he also earned conference coach of the ye