MENU
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

LEWISBURG, Pa. — Bucknell University head men’s and women’s water polo coach John McBride has been striving to represent Team USA at the Olympic Games since his undergraduate days as an All-East goalie at the University of Rhode Island. Now, after 15 years working in various roles with USA Water Polo, McBride is about to realize his Olympic dream as an assistant coach with the men’s squad at the upcoming Paris Olympics.

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 is 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.

“It’s a tremendous honor to represent the USA, my family, and Bucknell Water Polo at the 2024 Olympics in Paris as an assistant coach with the Men’s Olympic Water Polo Team,” said McBride. “Dejan Udovicic has been a tremendous mentor and leader as the head coach, and I am honored that he asked me to be part of his staff. He is the best coach in the world, and this opportunity to be part of his staff has been the greatest professional experience of my career.”

In Paris, the United States is slotted in Group A along with Italy, Romania, Greece, Montenegro, and Croatia. The U.S. begins its Olympic schedule with a group-stage game against Italy on Sunday, July 28, two days after the Opening Ceremonies. The gold and bronze medal games will be on Sunday, August 11, which is the final day of the Olympics. Group-stage games will be played at the Aquatics Centre in Saint Denis, and group-stage and knockout/medal games will be played at the Paris la Defense Arena, which will host indoor swimming events during the first week of the Games.

All Olympic water polo matches will be streamed live on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com. There will also be live and tape-delayed television coverage on NBC, USA Network, and E!.

The U.S. will field an experienced squad in Paris, with 10 of the team’s 13 players having also competed in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Team captain Ben Hallock, a former Cutino Award winner at Stanford, is back for his third Olympic Games, and he will be trying to lead Team USA to its first Olympic medal since the 2008 team earned silver in Beijing. The U.S. also garnered silver medals in Los Angeles in 1984 and Seoul in 1988, and bronze in Paris in 1924, Los Angeles in 1932, and Munich in 1972.

Team USA 2024 Olympic Schedule
July 28, 9 a.m. (EDT) vs. Italy (Group A Preliminary Round)
July 30, 10:30 a.m. (EDT) vs. Romania (Group A Preliminary Round)
August 1, 4:30 a.m. (EDT) vs. Greece (Group A Preliminary Round)
August 3, 10:30 a.m. (EDT) vs. Montenegro (Group A Preliminary Round)
August 5, 12:30 p.m. (EDT) vs. Croatia (Group A Preliminary Round)
August 7: Quarterfinals
August 9: Classification 5th-8th, Semifinals
August 10: Classification 7th-8th
August 11: Classification 5th-6th, bronze medal game, gold medal game

Collegiate Water Polo Association