BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Bucknell University men’s and women’s water polo head coach John McBride returns for the 2024-25 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) fresh off serving as an assistant coach for the United States of America men’s water polo Bronze Medal winning team at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
The United States – which led all nations with 126 medals – finished 4-2 in Olympic play as the Americans fell to Greece (13-11 L, August 1) and defeated Montenegro (12-7 W, August 3) and Croatia (14-11 W, August 15) in Group A competition.
Following an 11-10 penalty shot victory over Australia – a game in which Team USA tied the contest at seven-all with 32 seconds left in regulation before outscoring the Aussies 4-3 – in the quarterfinals on August 7, the Americans suffered a 10-6 setback versus Serbia on August 9 in the semifinals to miss out on a Gold Medal chance.
In the Bronze Medal game on August 11, the United States overcame an 8-6 deficit with three minutes to play courtesy a pair of man-up strikes to conclude regulation in an eight-all tie. The Red, White & Blue dashed the Hungarians medal hopes by outscoring their foe 3-0 in the penalty shootout to claim an 11-8 victory.
The Bronze Medal marks the first for the U.S. men’s water polo team since 2008, when the squad fell to Hungary in the Gold Medal match in Beijing.
Croatia – which was ranked No. 2 in the world prior to falling to the United States in Group A competition – claimed the Silver Medal as Serbia claimed a 13-11 victory in the Gold Medal clash.
McBride, who was named head coach at Bucknell in 2011, is in his second year as an assistant with the Senior Men’s National Team, and he has served as head coach of the Northeast Zone Olympic Development Team since 2009. McBride has traveled around the globe with Team USA, which clinched its Olympic berth with a 17-7 win over Brazil in the gold medal match at the Pan American Games in Chile last November.
Dejan Udovicic was the head coach of the U.S. men’s squad, with McBride, Long Beach State University head coach Gavin Arroyo and University of California-San Diego head coach Matt Ustaszewski on the staff as assistants.
