University of Southern California Men's Water Polo

Former USC All-American Marko Pintaric is in his 25th season on the USC staff and seventh year as head coach of the USC men’s team. In seven seasons leading the USC men, Pintaric holds a 100-38 overall record. Under his direction, USC has extended its run of NCAA appearances to 20 in a row, with the Trojans reaching the NCAA final in four of the past five seasons. Pintaric spent the 2017-19 seasons as co-head coach for the USC men after three seasons as an associate head coach. From 2015-19, Pintaric also served as the scouting director for the USC women. Prior to 2015, Pintaric was as assistant coach to both the USC men and women. Pintaric also served as head coach of the USC women for four seasons, from 2020-2023, winning the 2021 NCAA Championship and being named MPSF Women’s Coach of the Year three times — in 2021, 2022 and 2023 — and the 2021 National Women’s Coach of the Year. In four seasons leading the USC women, he compiled an 82-9 overall and 24-1 MPSF record. In his first year at the helm of the USC men’s and women’s programs, Pintaric guided the men to a 16th straight NCAA appearance with a trip to the NCAA Semifinals in 2019. In 2020 with the women, Pintaric had the Women of Troy ranked No. 1 in the nation when competition was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. In all, Pintaric has been on the USC staff for nine men’s NCAA titles and six USC women’s national championships since taking on a coaching role in 2001. A member of USC’s 1998 national championship

Alexandru Bucur enters his first season as an assistant coach for USC men's water polo, having joined head coach Marko Pintaric's staff in June 2025. A nativ...

Lindsay Jaffe is the Senior Associate Athletic Director – Sport Administration at USC Athletics, where she provides leadership and oversight for 11 teams, including men's basketball baseball, lacrosse, soccer, cross country, men's and women's swimming & diving, men's and women's track & field, and men's water polo. Jaffe plays a key role in goal setting, scheduling, performance management, and budget planning to drive competitive excellence. In her time as a sport administrator, USC has won three national championships, including Women's Track & Field (2021), Women's Water Polo (2021), and Men's Indoor Track & Field (2025), as well as USC's first Big Ten title (Women's Soccer, 2024). Since her arrival at USC, Jaffe has helped lead national searches for head coaches in multiple sports, including baseball, women's cross country, men's and women's track & field, men's and women's swimming & diving, and women's soccer, while assisting the Director of Athletics in contract negotiations. She helped develop USC's sport administrator manual and implemented the annual Competitive Excellence analysis to evaluate recruiting, student-athlete development, and program performance. A member of USC Athletics' Senior Leadership and Executive Leadership teams, Jaffe has served on the Big Ten Transition Team, Performance Science Institute Team, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Team, and Culture Champions Team. Before USC, Jaffe spent eight years at Cincinnati in various leadership roles, including

Robby Rhodes, PsyD, CMPC is a Clinical Sport Psychologist for USC Athletics, as well as a member of the faculty of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Keck School of Medicine of USC. He received his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology. He served as a pre-doctoral intern in USC's Counseling & Mental Health for a year (2016-17), a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at UCLA Counseling & Psychological Services (2017-18), and then returned as the Clinical Sport Psychology Post-Doctoral Fellow for USC Athletics (2018-19). His professional interests include sport psychology, performance enhancement, student-athlete adjustment, injury recovery (USC Student-Athlete Injury Group), team dynamics/culture, anger management, mindfulness, stress management, substance use, outreach, training and consultation, anxiety, depression, ADHD, and integrative (cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal process, and dynamic) short-term therapy. Robby was born and raised in Los Angeles. He loves food (favorite foods are fried chicken sandwiches and burgers) and staying active/exercising. He and his fiancé Callie have a Boxer/Lab puppy named Rocky.

Education: California State University, Long Beach - Bachelor of Arts (Kinesiology) 1996 California University of Pennsylvania - Master of Science (Athletic Training) 1998 Board of Certification Number: 039702396 NPI Number: 1508262049 Fellowship: Gray Institute of Functional Transformation Fellow of Applied Functional Science 2018 Certifications: NSCA-Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist; Functional Range Conditioning (FRC); Owens Recovery Science Blood Flow Restriction Certification; Myofascial Decompression; Stick Mobility Sport Responsibility: Men’s and Women’s Water Polo

Vanessa Rideau is in her 18th year working in the USC Athletic Department and her third year as director of operations for USC's aquatics programs. Rideau's USC career began in 2005 as administrative assistant for men's basketball, where she spent five years and served in an operational role handling team travel, events and parent and donor and alumni relations. Rideau joined the USC aquatics support staff in 2010 as administrative assistant and office manager for the water polo, swimming and diving teams. She handles administrative duties, day-to-day aquatics operations and team travel, as well as assisting coaching staffs with events and as a liaison to alumni, parents and donors. Rideau earned a degree in business administration from Loyola Marymount and is the mother of two — Chad and Camille, who is a 2013 USC graduate.

William Grant enters his first season as an assistant coach and Director of Recruiting for the USC men’s water polo program, joining head coach Marko Pintaric's staff in January of 2026. Grant comes to USC with extensive experience at the collegiate, club, and national team levels. He previously spent four seasons as the assistant coach at Santa Clara University, contributing to the program's improved success and continued momentum in roster development during his tenure. In addition to his collegiate experience, Grant served as the High School Director for the Stanford Water Polo Club from 2021 to 2025. In this role, he oversaw training and competition for multiple age groups while maintaining a consistent developmental and cultural standard. Grant has also been involved with USA Water Polo throughout his career, most recently serving as a Pacific Zone Head Coach within the Olympic Development Program working with top athletes throughout the regional and national evaluation process. A graduate of Santa Clara University, Grant earned his bachelor’s degree in biology in 2016 and later completed a master’s degree in marine biology at San Francisco State University in 2021. He brings a strong commitment to player development and high-performance culture as he joins the Trojan men's water polo program.