ANN ARBOR, Mich. — University of Michigan women’s water polo head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi discusses his team’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship draw (0:45), the unique journey through the regular season (4:00), his emotions after reaching the NCAA Tournament for a fifth straight time (9:15) and some of the key contributors on this year’s team (14:30) on Michigan’s Conqu’ring Heroes Podcast hosted by Jon Jansen.
About Marcelo Leonardi: Dr. Marcelo Leonardi is in his seventh season as the head coach of the University of Michigan Wolverines in 2021.
Introduced as the new coach on May 30, 2014, becoming the third coach in U-M history, Leonardi has recorded a 164-60 overall record at Michigan through May 4, 2021. He has guided the Wolverines to five National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) appearances and Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championships (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021) and four first place conference finishes during the regular season.
In 2021, he has guided the Wolverines to a 21-4 record, the program’s fifth consecutive CWPA Championship and NCAA Championship berth.
Named the 2014 and 2018 recipient of USA Water Polo’s Sandy Nitta Distinguished Women’s Coaching Award, Leonardi has been heavily involved with the national governing body since 2009. He served two cycles as the USA women’s national youth team coach, leading Team USA to gold at the FINA Youth World Championship in Madrid, Spain in 2014 and to a fifth place finish in New Zealand in 2016. His gold medal in 2014 was the first Youth World Championship in USA Water Polo history.
Leonardi has served as the national technical director for the women’s Olympic Development Program (ODP) and has been associated with the organization since 2013. In his role with USA Water Polo, Leonardi oversees the implementation of training for all female athletes in the Olympic Development Program nationwide as well as competition at the national training and selection camps.
Leonardi took over the Michigan women’s water polo program after spending the previous five seasons as the women’s water polo coach at California State University in Northridge. In 2014, he guided the Matadors to a second-place finish in the regular-season Big West Conference standings and a runner-up showing at the conference championship. CSUN compiled a 23-9 overall record on the year and ranked as high as No. 9 in the CWPA national polls.
In five years as the head coach at Cal State Northridge, Leonardi compiled a 115-64 overall record with four 20-win campaigns and top 20 final national rankings each year. Leonardi had student-athletes named All-Big West 23 times, accumulating 10 first-team citations, five second-team honors and eight honorable mention accolades. He had six student-athletes earn All-America honors eight times. In the classroom, his student-athletes had a cumulative grade point average above a 3.0 all five years.
Leonardi was the interim head coach at CSUN for the 2009-10 season, compiling a school record 28 wins (28-8), the Big West regular season title and a No. 9 national ranking. Prior to moving into the head coaching role, Leonardi spent four years as an assistant coach for the Matadors (2006-09).
Before joining the staff at Cal State Northridge, Leonardi was head coach for the El Rancho High School water polo and swim programs for six years. During his tenure, the Dons twice claimed the Del Rio League water polo titles (2003 and 2004) and played in the CIF Division III championship game in 2004. Leonardi was named the CIF Division III Coach of the Year in 2004 and also led the swimming team to the league title that same season.
Leonardi earned a bachelor of arts in biology and Spanish from Whittier College (Calf.) in 1998. He added a Master’s degree in education from Whittier in 2001 and a single-subject teaching credential in biology and life sciences from the institution in 2003. As a collegiate player, Leonardi was a three-year starter and letterman in water polo at Whittier (1994-96).
He added a doctorate degree in educational leadership from Azusa Pacific University in 2011.
Leonardi and his wife, Kendra, reside in Ann Arbor.
