PRINCETON, N.J. — A coaching change within the Princeton University men’s water polo program have been announced by Ford Family Director of Athletics John Mack ’00.
Dusty Litvak announced his resignation as head coach of the men’s water polo team at Princeton effective immediately to take the head coaching position with Loyola Marymount University’s women’s water polo program.
Derek Ellingson, currently the head coach of the women’s water polo team at Princeton, will serve as interim head coach for the men’s team during the upcoming 2026 season. Huw Helman will continue as an assistant coach with both the men’s and women’s programs.
A national search will be held for the next head coach of men’s water polo at the conclusion of the 2026 season.
Over his seven seasons at Princeton, Litvak compiled a 162-65 (.714) overall record and went 58-12 (.826) in Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) play. His teams won six NWPC championships and qualified for six National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship tournaments advancing as far as the national semifinals in 2023.
“Princeton is thankful for Dusty’s eight years at Princeton working alongside our men’s and women’s water polo student-athletes and we wish he and his family well,” said Mack.
“I am grateful for Derek Ellingson who Is more than ready to step in and lead our men’s team as they strive to win their 11th conference championship and earn a 12th overall trip to the national tournament. Derek has been part of the Princeton Water Polo community for over 20 years as a coach with both our men’s and women’s teams. He is a proven winner in the pool and I am confident that he and Huw Helman will provide the leadership and coaching the men’s team deserves this coming season.”
Ellingson has been part of Princeton’s coaching staff since 2004, serving in multiple coaching roles including as head coach of the women’s team since 2019. As head coach with Princeton’s women’s team, he has compiled a 148-46 (.763) overall record and is 48-8 (.857) in Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) play. His teams have won two CWPA championships while he has served as head coach (2023, 2024) and have played in two NCAA Tournaments with a trip to the national semifinals in 2023.
Overall since his arrival on campus in 2004, Ellingson has been an assistant or head coach for 11 CWPA Division championships and 14 CWPA Conference championships while guiding teams to 14 NCAA Tournaments.
A member of the Queens College (N.Y.) Athletics Hall of Fame and a 1998 graduate of the institution, Ellingson began his intercollegiate coaching career at his alma mater.
As an athlete in 1996, he helped the Knights win the CWPA Northern Division before a second-place finish at the Eastern Championship. The following year, Queens finished first at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), Northern and Eastern Championships to advance to the NCAA Championships. At the NCAA Championships, the Knights defeated the University of California-Davis in the consolation game and became the first school from the East Coast to place as high as third in the national tournament.
As a coach at Queens, Ellingson was the women’s New York Division Coach of the Year his first season and was named Northeast Coach of the Year in 2001 and Eastern Coach of the Year in 2006 prior to joining the staff of then Princeton men’s and women’s head coach Luis Nicolao.
Information courtesy Princeton University Athletics Communications
