LOS ANGLES, Calif. — University of Southern California women’s water polo head coach Casey Moon has added another key coach to his staff in Jackie Puccino, who brings over a decade of experience to her role as an assistant coach at USC. Puccino joins Moon and assistant coach Stephen Loomis as they prep the Women of Troy for the coming 2025 season, where USC will look to extend its run of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) appearances to 21 in a row.
“Jackie is an amazing, up-and-coming coach who has helped her teams achieve success at her every stop,” Moon said of Puccino. “She’s an established coach with lots of experience and will help this staff and program tremendously in our journey.”
Puccino comes to USC after serving six seasons at Harvard, where she was on staff for both the Crimson women’s and men’s programs. The associate head coach at Harvard in 2023-24, Puccino joined the Crimson staff as an assistant in 2018. In her time there, Harvard teams posted a combined eight 20-win seasons, including the Crimson women’s first-ever conference championship game appearance in 2022 and a 2019 NCAA appearance for the Harvard men.
“First off, I’d like to thank Casey, Stephen, Lindsay (Jaffe) and the rest of the USC athletic department for their confidence in me and bringing me into this incredible family,” Puccino said. “I’d also like to thank Ted Minnis, Andrea Lapointe, Erin McDermott and all the student-athletes at Harvard that I had the opportunity to coach for an unforgettable six years. I’m excited and grateful for the opportunity ahead to work with amazing people, to coach these elite-level student-athletes and to help build upon the successes of USC women’s water polo. I’m eager to get to work. Fight On!”
A 2012 graduate of Marist College, Puccino’s coaching career began with the Palomar College women’s program. While there, she was named PCAC Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2016. She then spent a year as the women’s head coach at San Diego Mesa College, winning the 2017 PCAC title and earning another nod as the PCAC Coach of the Year. Puccino also has experience as a head coach at Cathedral Catholic High School and with San Diego Shores.
As a player, Puccino earned All-America First Team honors at Palomar College before going on to Marist, where she earned a degree in psychology. Puccino also holds a master’s degree in physical education from Azusa Pacific University.
Release courtesy University of Southern California Athletics Communications
