BRONX, N.Y. — Fordham University water polo head coach Brian Bacharach announced the addition of former St. Francis Brooklyn head coach Ilija Duretic as an assistant coach.
“We feel very fortunate to be able to add a coach to our staff of Ilija’s experience level and stature,” said Bacharach. “He has played at the highest levels internationally and was a standout athlete for St. Francis Brooklyn College. He has head and assistant coaching experience, and his incredible passion for the game will benefit our team immediately. Coach Harris and myself look forward to working him into the fold and seeing where this season leads us.”
Duretic served as the head coach of both the men’s and women’s water polo programs at St. Francis Brooklyn for two seasons in 2021-22 and 2022-23. During those seasons, Duretic led the men’s team to back-to-back final appearances at the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Championship. The squad also posted 21 wins in 2022, the most since the 2013 season, with Duretic being named as the 2022 NWPC Coach of the Tournament at the NWPC Championship.
Under Duretic’s watch, Aleksa Sisakovic was named an Honorable Mention All-America selection by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) twice, while he and Adonis Vlassis were All-NWPC performers in both 2021 and 2022.
Duretic returned to the deck at St. Francis Brooklyn after serving as the boys’ and girls’ water polo head coach at Saint Andrew’s High School in Florida from 2019 to 2020. Before he took over both programs at Saint Andrew’s, he was the water polo head coach for the Florida Atlantic University Water Polo Club from 2018 to 2019, guiding the team to a third-place finish at the 2019 Florida Division Championship.
A four-year standout student-athlete at St. Francis Brooklyn from 2013 to 2017, Duretic helped lead the Terriers to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship semifinals in 2013. During that freshman season, he was named Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Rookie of the Week twice, and scored three goals in the Terriers’ NCAA play-in game victory against the University of California-San Diego. He was a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) Academic Honor Roll and received ACWPC All-Academic Superior Team honors throughout his career.
Duretic also achieved great success on the National level as a player. He was a four-time Junior National Champion of Serbia, as he was a member of the Serbian Junior National Team.
Release courtesy Fordham University Athletics Communications
