IRVINE, Calif — USA Water Polo announced the Team USA Men’s Coaching Staff for competition at the 2027 World University Games from August 1-12 in Chungcheong, South Korea. The staff features some of the top coaches in the National Team and collegiate systems. Longtime USA Water Polo pipeline, club and collegiate coach/Brown University men’s water polo head coach and Director of Water Polo Felix Mercado has been named the head coach. He’ll be joined by assistant coaches Alex Rodriguez and Derek Clappis with former Hartwick College head coach Alan Huckins serving as team manager. Full rosters and a competition schedule will be announced at a later date.
Mercado is the Director of Water Polo and head coach for the men’s program at Brown.A three-time (2006, 2007, 2014) Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Northern Division Men’s Coach of the Year and 2016 Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Coach of the Year. Mercado led the Brown men’s team to its first appearance in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship since 1990 in 2014 after the team claimed its first CWPA title since 1985. He has coached the program to 377 victories and 13 seasons of 20-or-more wins.
“I am incredibly honored and humbled to have the opportunity to lead Team USA at the 2027 World University Games,” said Mercado.
“Representing the United States has always meant a great deal to me, and being entrusted with the responsibility of leading this team is something I do not take for granted. Some of the most meaningful experiences of my coaching career have come from working with our National Team programs and representing our country alongside incredible athletes and coaches.”
“I am excited to bring this group together, build something special and give these young men an experience they will remember for the rest of their lives. We will represent Team USA with pride, compete for one another and do everything we can to bring home a medal.”
Rodriguez enters his 22nd year as head coach of both the Pomona-Pitzer Colleges men’s and women’s water polo programs in 2026-27. Under his leadership, the Sagehens have become a dominant force in Division III water polo, winning a combined 25 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) titles and six USA Water Polo Division III championships. Rodriguez took sabbaticals in 2015-16 and 2021 to serve as an assistant coach of the USA Men’s Olympic Water Polo Team (Brazil and Tokyo). He has also been head coach of the U.S. Men’s Junior and Youth National Teams.
Clappis joined the University of the Pacific men’s and women’s water polo programs as an assistant coach in the 2021-22 season and was promoted to associate head coach for the men’s team in advance of the 2025-26 year. Clappis is responsible for domestic recruiting and player development for both teams. As part of the coaching staff, Clappis assisted the Tigers to an 18-2 overall record including a perfect 6-0 mark in the West Coast Conference in 2024. Prior to Pacific, Clappis coached Big Valley Water Polo Academy for seven years. He also traveled to Canberra, Australia after college to coach and play water polo at Canberra Water Polo Academy and Nordek Water Polo Club.
Mercado, Rodriguez, and Clappis were all assistant coaches for the USA Men’s Junior National Team who claimed silver at the 2025 World Aquatics U20 World Championships.
Huckins is entering his ninth season as the assistant water polo coach at the Air Force Academy in 2026. He spent 15 seasons as the head coach of the Hartwick College women’s water polo team, prior to the program being discontinued after the 2018 season.
About The World University Games/Universiade
The Universiade is an international multi-sport event organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The Universiade is staged every two years in a different city around the world, representing both winter and summer competitions and is second only in importance to the Olympic Games.
Release courtesy USA Water Polo
