Santa Clara University Men's Water Polo
Academic Snapshot
Acceptance Rate
44%
Avg SAT
1,417
Avg ACT
32
Enrollment
6,235
Team Information
Sport
Water Polo
Gender
Men's
Division
NCAA Division 1
Location
Santa Clara, CA
Coaching Staff (2)
Keith Wilbur
Head Coach
Wilbur, who graduated from Princeton and helped the Tigers win three Ivy League Championships as team captain and goalie, is in his 14th-year directing both the mens and womens water polo programs at Santa Clara University. Wilbur was hired in July of 2002 and has become the winningest coach in SCU water polo history. He has recruited and coached six Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-Americans, led both mens and womens programs to their best-ever seasons, including taking the womens team to the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Championship game in 2009 and has twice been named WWPA Coach of the Year. His mens program achieved a No. 10 national ranking in 2009 by the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), and both programs have enjoyed extended time ranked among the nations top 20. The womens team's best ranking came in 2007, when the CWPA tabbed the Broncos No. 12. Not only have his teams excelled athletically, his student-athletes have posted a 100 percent graduation rate on the womens side and over 95 percent on the mens side. As recently as July of 2012, the Bronco womens team placed a league-best 11 student-athletes on the WWPA All-Academic team. The Broncos best-ever record on the mens side came in 2009, when SCU went 22-12 and advanced into the WWPA semifinals, behind All-America driver Jack Wall, who finished his collegiate career among the most accomplished water polo players in school history. The Bronco womens best overall record of 25-8, came in 2006. In 2009 SCU was one win away from its first-ever NCAA tournament berth. Utility player Lindsey Bacolini was the programs first Division I All-American in 2006 and lefty Amy Lamb was honored as an All-American in 2009. Prior to being hired at Santa Clara, he served as the top assistant at San Jose State University in 2002, helping the Spartans rank as high as No. 6 nationally. Following an outstanding playing career, which included a brief stint as a member of the US National Team and competing in the 1997 World University Games in Sicily, Italy, he moved into coaching, getting his start at his high school alma mater Menlo School. Wilbur coached four high school All-Americans and led the team to the CCS Championship game three times in his four years at Menlo. Before his arrival, Menlo had never won a CCS playoff match. Wilbur is a 1996 honors graduate of Princeton University, earning his degree in Economics.
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Claire Linney
Assistant Coach
Linney, a Bronco alumna, graduated from Santa Clara in 2009 with a degree in Sociology. The 2015 and 2016 men's and women's water polo seasons will be her 2nd as an assistant coach at SCU. The Aptos, Calif. native served as assistant coach at Cal State Monterey Bay from 2010-2012. She helped the team to their best-ever finish in the WWPA. The Otters finished 18-15 overall, including a semifinal appearance in the WWPA tournament in 2012. In additions, she also served as the varsity boys head coach at Salinas High School. In her senior season with the Broncos, Linney was team MVP and captain. In the 2009 season the Broncos made it to the WWPA Championship game, which was the strongest finish for the womens program at conference championships.
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