BRONX, N.Y. — lija Duretic returns for another season with the Fordham University water polo team following a promotion to Associate Head Coach in 2026 after serving as assistant coach for three seasons.
With Duretic on staff, the 2024 season set the new program standard for Fordham water polo, reaching the National Collegiate Championship semifinals. The Rams went undefeated through the regular season, the lone team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to do so, ending the year with a 32-1 record with its fourth consecutive Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Championship and became the first non-California school to reach No. 1 in the National Top 20 poll. In addition to the program record 32 wins, the Rams also blew away team records for total goals (667), assists (533), and points (1200).
In 2025, the Rams made their second straight run to the National Collegiate Championship semifinal with a 26-4 record, ranking in the top five in the national polls throughout the season, while also ranking in the top five nationally in grade point average.
Since coming to Rose Hill in 2023, Duretic has been a part of three MAWPC Championships and three berths into the NCAA Championship field. A total of 13 players have earned All-League honors during that span with three earning League Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors and 12 receiving Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-America recognition.
Prior to Fordham, Duretic served as the head coach of both the men’s and women’s water polo programs at St. Francis Brooklyn for two 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.
Aside from his time at St. Francis Brooklyn, Duretic served 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 (FAU) water polo club from 2018 to 2019, guiding the team to a third-place finish in the Florida Division Championship.
A four-year standout student-athlete at St. Francis Brooklyn from 2013 to 2017, Duretic helped lead the Terriers to the 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.
Information courtesy Fordham University Athletics Communications
