BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) head coach Alyssa Diacono will serve as an assistant coach for the United States Women’s Cadet National Team at the 2025 PanAm Aquatics Water Polo Championships in Medellin, Colombia. The competition will take place from Monday-Sunday, May 19-25.
Live streaming of all matches will be available on the PanAm Sports YouTube channel. More information can be found on the PanAm Aquatics website.
The team lead for the event under head coach Brenda Villa, Diacono joins Marist College head coach Christopher Vidale and St. Ignatius College Preparatory head coach Gina Castagnola as assistant coaches for the PanAm Championship.
Named head coach at MIT in August 2024, she previously served as the inaugural head coach of men’s and women’s water polo at Mount St. Mary’s University from March 2020- August 2023.
Diacono spent two seasons as a women’s water polo graduate assistant coach at Mercyhurst University from 2018-2020 before taking over at Mount St. Mary’s in March 2020. Despite challenging circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic, she helped lead both the men’s and women’s teams at “The Mount” to winning records by both programs’ third seasons, as the women’s team qualified for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) quarterfinals in 2022-23.
Following her tenure at Mount St. Mary’s, Diacono was the Assistant Director of Operations & Community Programs at Fairmont State University. She also has prior coaching experience at the high school level, including an eight-year tenure as an assistant coach at Tesoro High School and an internship with the Mission Viejo Nadadores Swim Team.
Diacono earned her Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from Mercyhurst University in 2020 and a Bachelor of Science in Health and Human Sciences from San Diego State University in 2017. She also holds certifications as a Personal Trainer, CrossFit Level 1 Trainer and Nutrition Coach.
A four-year standout water polo student-athlete at San Diego State, Diacono was a two-year captain and a two-time Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Honorable Mention All-America selection in 2015 and 2016. She was named a Golden Coast Conference (GCC) First Team Selection in 2015 and 2016 and earned a GCC All-Tournament Team selection in 2015 and an honorable mention All-GCC selection during her first season in 2014. In addition to her accomplishments in the pool, Diacono was a four-time GCC and ACWPC All-Academic honoree.
She concluded her career with 158 goals, 90 steals, 23 assists and 17 saves as the Aztecs won four consecutive GCC regular season titles and earned a trip to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament in 2016. She was named SDSU’s Female Student-Athlete of the Year and nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award in 2017. Following her collegiate career, she played water polo professionally, for the University of Western Australia Women’s Water Polo Team and the The Exiles Sports Club in Malta.
Women’s Cadet National Team Schedule (2025 PanAm Aquatics Water Polo Championships)
May 19 – USA vs. Brazil at 9:40 a.m. Pacific/12:40 p.m. Eastern
May 20 – USA vs. Mexico at 1:00 p.m. Pacific/4:00 p.m. Eastern
May 21 – USA vs. Peru at 6:00 a.m. Pacific/9:00 a.m. Eastern
May 23 – USA vs. Argentina at 7:00 a.m. Pacific/10:00 a.m. Eastern
May 24 – USA vs. Colombia at 10:00 a.m. Pacific/1:00 p.m. Eastern
May 25 – TBD
