No. 3 UCLA women’s water polo’s season begins this weekend. The squad ended its 2025 season with a loss in the NCAA tournament semifinal to USC, and this season will begin for UCLA at the Cal Cup. With the NCAA tournament moving forward by two weeks, the Bruins will have a shorter timeline to prepare for the April postseason. Daily Bruin senior staff writer Felicia Keller analyzes the Bruins’ roster ahead of the start of their season.

2025 record: 20-6, 5-1 Big Ten

Interim co-head coaches: Jason Falitz and Matt Kubeck

Coaching staff

The biggest shake-up for the Bruins this season comes from coaching staff turnover. Former head coach Adam Wright announced before the start of the season that he would transition from day-to-day activities into an advisory role because of ongoing health issues.

Wright has coached the women’s team since the 2018 season, guiding the squad to a national championship in 2024 – the Bruins’ first since 2009.

With Wright’s departure, interim co-head coaches Jason Falitz and Matt Kubeck will take the reins for the 2026 season. Falitz has been an associate head coach for the women’s squad since 2021 and has worked with Wright and the men’s program since 2015.

Meanwhile Kubeck, a former college goalkeeper, joined the men’s program ahead of its 2024 season but had not previously worked with the women’s program ahead of the announcement.

Without Wright on the pool deck, what the Bruins will look like in the pool this season remains to be seen and is likely the biggest question mark surrounding the Bruins this year.

Outgoing players

The Bruins had just three seniors last season – attacker Molly Renner and utility Nicole Struss both played solid minutes in the pool. Attacker Camille Greenlee is also no longer rostered after redshirting her freshman year in 2024 and playing limited minutes in 2025.

But the biggest departing name is Sienna Green – a 2024 Olympic silver medalist with Team Australia – who transferred to Stanford ahead of this season. After redshirting the 2024 season – where the Bruins won the national championship – to train for the Olympics, Green did not return to her freshman season form in 2025 and departed the program. Green scored 39 goals in her freshman year – good for third on the team – but only managed 11 last season.

Incoming players

The Bruins added two transfers from rival schools.

From USC comes Fanni Muzsnay, although the senior attacker did not see any in-pool time in the last two years. She scored 26 goals with USC as a sophomore after transferring from Fresno State, where she scored a program-high 72 goals.

And from California comes Janna Tauscher.

The redshirt senior center will likely back up the experienced and high-powered senior center lineup UCLA already has in Bia Mantellato and Anna Pearson. Tauscher – whose brother Nate Tauscher plays for the UCLA men’s program – scored 22 goals for Cal in her redshirt junior season.

Another transfer from the MPSF is senior Zoë Frangieh, a defender from Arizona State. Frangieh scored 22 goals in her junior year and 17 as a sophomore.

The Bruins also have a six-member freshman class – goalkeeper Sienna Steiner, attacker Katherine O’Dea, attacker Alison Sagara, center/defender Ally Larsen, utility Jailynn Robinson and attacker Presley Jones.

All six arrive in Westwood with impressive high school careers. While Steiner is likely to back up junior goalkeeper Lauren Steele, the others are likely to see regular time in the pool.

With new coaches at the helm and fresh athletes to refill the few who left, the Bruins are poised for an exciting season.