By Bill Sheehan
Kyle Witt spent two decades playing and coaching water polo at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and would have been satisfied to finish his career at his alma mater. But he was always intrigued by the prospect of building a program from scratch.
Now he is getting that opportunity.
Witt, who guided the Loyola women's water polo for the past 13 years, this week was named head coach of Cal State Fullerton's nascent men's and women's water polo teams, which will launch in 2023. Fullerton last fielded a men's team in 1985. The women's team will be the school's first.
"This will be one of the biggest challenges any coach can have. But I can't think of a better way to implement a career change and impact people's lives than to start with nothing and build it into something," said Witt, a Fullerton resident.
"When the job opened, I went hard after it. It took something special to leave my alma mater, and this is something special. I see nothing but positive things ahead. We want to become the dominant program in the Big West. My goal is to find people who share the same common vision of success, whether they be assistant coaches, student-athletes from the transfer portal, incoming freshmen or current students on campus who want to join us."
"This is a great opportunity for students looking for water polo playing time. I hope they take a serious look at Cal State Fullerton."
Witt's knowledge of Southern California water polo and his impressive tenure at LMU set him apart among candidates, said Jim Donovan, Fullerton's director of athletics.
"We needed someone that could come here and get our programs up and running as quickly as possible. Kyle's recruiting prowess, his conference championships and winning records, and his experience as a Division 1 head coach will be the catalysts to our competitive success in the years ahead."
Donovan said Brian Quinn, a former athletic director at Fullerton and Loyola Marymount, strongly endorsed Witt. "That meant a lot to me because Brian knows our ultimate goal is to develop men and women who graduate and also win at their sport," said Donovan. "Brian's endorsement just reinforced the vision Coach Witt shared with me and our search committee, and we're proud and pleased to have Kyle onboard."
The LMU women won four conference championships under Witt and reached the NCAA semifinals in 2010. His record of 236-145 included winning 80 percent of his conference games. He was named back-to-back Golden Coast Conference Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2015 and the Western Water Polo Association Coach of the Year in 2011.
Kyle Witt, the newly hired Cal State Fullerton water polo head coach, gets pushed into the pool after a Loyola Marymount University victory.
From 2005 to 2007, he served as the head coach of the Division 2 men's and women's water polo teams at Gannon University in Erie, Penn. Over the course of his career at Gannon and LMU, he has accumulated 247 wins while coaching 46 All-Americans, two Olympians and eight student-athletes who went on to play with national teams.
The 6-foot-5 Witt played center, or the hole position, for LMU and was a four-time All-Western Water Polo Association selection from 1998 to 2001 before graduating in 2002.
John Loughran, who is beginning his 25th year at Loyola, coached Witt and later brought him back to serve as an assistant coach before his protégé took over as the LMU women's program in 2010. Witt is uniquely qualified to launch Fullerton's water polo programs, Loughran said.
"He is up for the challenge. Kyle was in my first recruiting class at Loyola and was part of the building process there. And he jump-started the Gannon program. He can build a program from the ground up and recruit the right student-athletes," said Loughran, who is currently in Montenegro taking his LMU team on a training trip.
For Witt, there's an urgency to hit the ground running. Two assistant coaches need to be hired, and he must begin recruiting immediately.
The women's team will begin competition in January as a member of the Big West Conference. The men's team will launch in fall 2023 in a newly formed Big West men's water polo conference. The men's conference will be granted an NCAA automatic qualifier after a two-year period.
Most elite high school water polo players signed letters of intent many months ago, so Witt will be scrambling to assemble his teams. There will be small rosters in year one, Witt said, with perhaps 10 to 12 players on each team.
Fullerton will have the fully allowed number of water polo scholarships per NCAA rules – 4.5 for men and 8 for women – implemented over a three-year period, Donovan said. At full strength, the women's team will have 30 members, while the men's team will have 22.
Witt, 43, said he will be recruiting student-athletes who are ready to learn, improve and put the team first. "And they've got to earn the respect of their coaches and teammates. Every kid is going to have to be a fighter. And we want them to keep that mentality after they graduate."
He also wants his student-athletes to have a good life balance and solid time management skills. "If it's time to be in the classroom, that's what they need to focus on.
"And if they're on the pool deck, it's time to focus on water polo. We'll try to teach them to compartmentalize and put part of their life aside so they can live in the moment."
Witt had been the associate head coach for both the LMU men's and women's programs before being promoted to head the women's program. Erin Manke, a freshman on Witt's 2010 team that reached the NCAA semifinals, said he refined his recruiting skills as an assistant coach.
"Kyle was able to figure out what makes a quality team. He has a sharp water polo mind – he thinks about it from the time he awakens. As a former player, he knows how to connect with all his student-athletes, whether they are starters or reserves. And they know he cares about them."
"He was a big proponent of women's sports. He ensured that we received recognition," said Manke, who also played on the U.S. national team She is now a program director for 2U, an American educational technology company.
As a former player, Kyle Witt "knows how to connect with all his student-athletes, whether they are starters or reserves," said Erin Manke, who competed for LMU and the U.S. national team.
Former LMU standout Diana Romero said she was surprised to hear about his move to Fullerton. "When I think of Kyle, I think of Loyola. Starting a program from scratch is a big ask. But he was waiting for an opportunity like this, and I think he will do great things at Fullerton."
Romero played for Witt in his first two years as LMU's women's coach, said he made his presence felt immediately. "He came out with guns blazing in his first year as a head coach," she said. "How he molds and brings the best out of his athletes is remarkable. He definitely got the best out of me."
Romero, who also competed for the Mexican national team, served as an assistant coach under Witt at LMU. "He taught me how to be a coach, how to be patient and tactical, and how to motivate the student-athletes and be a mentor to them," said Romero, who is entering her fifth year as the head coach of swimming, diving and women's water polo at East Los Angeles College.
Witt said he learned several lessons during his time at LMU. "As a player, I realized how important it is not to waste a single day. Those practices and team events mean a lot."
"Teams will have strengths and weaknesses. As a coach, I've learned how important it is to be adaptable and tweak our program year to year to have our best success."
Loughran, his mentor, said Witt's mental makeup gives him an advantage. "He's good at reading situations and personnel, and he has a high degree of emotional intelligence. He's a student of the game."
"I'm sorry to lose Kyle, but I'm very proud and excited for him. I know he will be successful. He was a great member of the LMU community. He will add a lot to the Fullerton community."
Witt said reaching out to the Orange County aquatics world will be a priority. "The Fullerton pool can really serve the community, with camps and swimming lessons. It's a great facility that can be used in a lot of different ways."
Born in Long Beach and raised in Glendale, Witt attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles. After graduating from LMU, he began his coaching career as the Rose Bowl Aquatics coach in 1999 before being hired as the water polo head coach at Westridge School for Girls in Pasadena in 2001. As an assistant men's and women's coach at Mira Costa High in Manhattan Beach from 2002 to 2004, he helped the boys win a CIF Southern Section water polo championship.
He coached as an assistant at Whittier College from 2004 to 2005, helping the school earn its first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship. He then spent two years at Gannon University before returning to LMU as an assistant coach. He received a master's degree from Concordia University in Irvine in 2021.
Witt's wife, Jessica, is employed by the county of Orange. "Her support has allowed me to tackle a big project like launching Cal State Fullerton's programs."
Kyle Witt thanks his wife Jessica for her unwavering support. They have two children – Riley, 4, and Aidan, 2 – and reside in Fullerton.
They have a 4-year-old daughter, Riley, and a 2-year-old son, Aidan. "After the Covid lockdown, we've been trying to get them out as much as possible and letting them experience new things. And now that I will live a mile and a half from work, I'll be spared a two-to-three-hour round-trip commute. I will be able to spend more time with my wife and kids, and I hope to bring them to other Titan sporting events."
Fullerton fielded a men's water polo team from 1966 to 1985, and Witt's uncle, John Witt, competed for the Titans in the late 1960s. The coach said he will be asking former Fullerton players to come out and support the new teams
"It's one of my top priorities. We want to have a lot of alumni at the teams' first home games, and hopefully they will continue to support our programs as we move forward."
Additonal Stories:
Kyle Witt Named Head Men's and Women's Water Polo Coach
Feature: Fullerton to fill its Olympic size pool with men's and women's water polo teams
Feature: Fullerton expected to make splash with Olympic-size swimming pool