STOCKTON, Calif. — Adam Foley returns to University of the Pacific as the Associate Head Coach for the women’s water polo program.
Foley previously served as assistant coach with the Pacific men’s and women’s water polo teams in 2022-23. In that year, the men’s team won the Golden Coast Conference (GCC) Tournament, claimed a game in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship tournament to reach the national semifinals and finished with a 22-7 record. The women ended 14-10 and won two games in the GCC Tournament.
“I’m excited to return to Pacific and be a part of Water Polo U. I am looking forward to contributing to an environment that continually strives for excellence in and out of the pool,” Foley said.
The past two seasons, Foley served as head coach of the Navy Aquatic Club at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.. He managed a team of six coaches to serve six different age groups and grew the program from 60 to 100 athletes.
Foley has prior NCAA Division I head coaching experience as he was at the helm of the men’s and women’s water polo teams at George Washington University. He started as an assistant coach in 2014 before being promoted to interim head coach in December 2014 and head coach in April 2015.
Foley also brings national team experience as he spent two years with Trinidad and Tobago in 2011-13, serving as its technical director of water polo development and head coach of the senior and junior national teams. During his tenure, the Trinidad and Tobago youth squad qualified for the World Junior Championships and the country established itself as the premier team in the region.
Foley was the head coach of the MIT men’s varsity team and women’s collegiate club squad from 2007 to 2011. During his four years in Cambridge, the Engineers’ men’s program won the 2007 and 2010 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Eastern Championship titles. Following the 2008 campaign, he was named the CWPA Northern Division Coach of the Year. He also coached two CWPA Northern Division Rookies of the Year and seven Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-America selections at MIT.
Foley spent the 2013 campaign as an assistant coach at Johns Hopkins University, where he helped guide the team to a 21-10 record. It was just the third 20-win season in the Blue Jays’ history. He assisted at Bucknell University during the 2018-19 academic year.
“Adam brings an exceptional breadth of experience, having found success at every level of the game – from leading the Trinidad and Tobago National Team, to impactful collegiate coaching stints at MIT and George Washington, to guiding his 18U girls’ team to a top-10 finish at the 2024 Junior Olympics. Adam is no stranger to Pacific, having coached here before, and he embodies everything we stand for at Water Polo U: excellence, innovation and relentless competitiveness. His passion and proven track record make him a perfect fit for our program,” said head coach James Graham.
Foley was a four-year letterwinner at the University of Redlands, ranking seventh in school history in goals (111), fifth in assists (103), third in steals (202) and fifth in ejections drawn (100) when he graduated. As a senior in 2003, Foley was named both Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Player of the Year and ACWPC Division III National Player of the Year after tallying 39 goals, 36 assists and 60 steals.
A three-time All-SCIAC selection and a member of three SCIAC championship teams, Foley led Redlands to an 80-40 (.667) overall record and a 33-1 (.971) mark in the SCIAC during his four-year playing career.
Foley also starred on the swimming team at Redlands, earning 2002 All-America honorable mention laurels in the 1,650-yard freestyle and graduating as the school record holder in the 500-yard freestyle, 1,000-yard freestyle and 400-yard medley relay.
Upon graduation, Foley joined the Redlands coaching staff as a graduate assistant for the men’s and women’s water polo and swimming programs. During his one-year tenure with his alma mater, he helped guide the Bulldogs’ men’s water polo team to a 24-11 record and the women’s squad to a 20-13 mark and a SCIAC title.
Foley has also served as a statistical consultant for James Graham and Associates, a pioneer in the field of water polo analytics. In addition, he was an associate coach for the U.S. Olympic Development Program in the Northeast Zone for boys 18-and-under in 2010-11.
A native of Ashland, Oregon, Foley earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Redlands in 2004 and his master’s degree in teaching and curriculum development from Northeastern University in 2009.
Information courtesy University of the Pacific Athletics Communications
