USC Water Polo Names Casey Moon Women’s Head Coach, Marko Pintaric Leads Men’s Team

Courtesy: USC Athletics

For the first time, USC’s water polo program will have independent head coaches for the men’s and women’s teams in a restructuring that allows for two dedicated coaching staffs. Decorated Trojan and experienced coach Marko Pintaric will helm the men’s team, while longtime associate coach Casey Moon steps into the head coach role for the USC women.

“This is a structure that enables our Trojan water polo family to fully leverage the resources that USC provides to our student-athletes,” Pintaric said. “As a proud Trojan, I’m excited for this opportunity to deepen our support and maintain the winning culture that has been built here. Our program is dedicated to winning national championships and developing our student-athletes both athletically and academically. The successes that Casey and I have been a part of at USC are due to the players and the culture in this program.”

The 1998 National Player of the Year and NCAA champion as a player at USC, Pintaric has served on the USC coaching staff since coming on as a graduate assistant in 2000. Pintaric ascended in his career from assistant to associate head- and co-coach before taking over the helm in 2019. He has helped USC’s men and women win a combined 15 national championship in his 22 years on staff. In 2019, Pintaric took over as head coach of both the USC men’s and women’s teams, continuing both programs’ significant runs of NCAA appearance while guiding the Trojans to six NCAA finals in seven total trips. Along the way, he has been named MPSF Coach of the Year three times. In 2021, Pintaric helped the USC women win their seventh national title and earned himself National Coach of the Year honors that season. Pintaric also was a steady hand for the Trojans through seasons interrupted and affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Working together since 2007, Pintaric and Moon have served as a successful coaching tandem for the Trojans.

“In restructuring our program, we are now able to increase our support of our student-athletes, and there’s no better person to step into a dedicated leadership role for our women than Casey Moon,” Pintaric said. “This also allows for an additional full-time coach to join the program, which will further our ability to develop our players and maintain our winning trajectory here at USC. Casey is an accomplished, knowledgeable and caring coach, and I’m proud to work alongside him.”

Moon has served 16 years on the USC coaching staff, working at varying times with both the men and the women’s teams in a similar path to Pintaric’s. Moon was the interim head coach for the USC women during the 2019 season and recently helped the Women of Troy to their seventh national championship as associate head coach in 2021. In all, Moon has been on staff for six men’s NCAA championship runs and five NCAA titles won by the women.

“I am so appreciative and indebted to Pinta for being my mentor throughout my years working with this incredible USC program. He has guided me with love and joy to help me become the coach I am now,” Moon said. “I am truly humbled, honored, grateful and extremely excited to lead the Women of Troy as head coach. This program isn’t about any one person. It is about believing in the journey and knowing that we need others along the way. To lead the Women of Troy is an honor of a lifetime, and I will never take that for granted.”

With Pintaric leading the USC men and Moon at the helm for the women, USC will be able to staff two men’s assistant coaches and two women’s assistant coaches.

“This is a great opportunity for this program to grow under the direction of two experienced and dedicated head coaches while staying true to our culture as a cohesive and powerful family of Trojans,” Pintaric said. “In this day and age, you need to be focused on leading to the best of your ability, and on maximizing the potential and the experience of your players to help them develop and become the best they can be. I truly care about and am so proud of all our USC student-athletes, and this new structure allows me to support both teams in meaningful ways. I look forward to watching this program and our players shine and continue to grow even stronger.”

“Thank you to Marko and Casey for their incredible leadership, vision, and commitment to the student-athlete experience,” USC’s interim executive administrator Denise Kwok said. “This new structure reflects USC’s commitment to our Olympic sports and to the success of our water polo programs. We are fortunate to have two proven coaches guiding our teams and providing unprecedented levels of support to our water polo student-athletes.”