Women's Water Polo
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- pintaric@usc.edu
- Phone:
- (213) 740-8458
Former USC All-American Marko Pintaric is in his 25th season on the USC staff and seventh year as head coach of the USC men’s team.
In seven seasons leading the USC men, Pintaric holds a 100-38 overall record. Under his direction, USC has extended its run of NCAA appearances to 20 in a row, with the Trojans reaching the NCAA final in four of the past five seasons.
Pintaric spent the 2017-19 seasons as co-head coach for the USC men after three seasons as an associate head coach. From 2015-19, Pintaric also served as the scouting director for the USC women. Prior to 2015, Pintaric was as assistant coach to both the USC men and women.
Pintaric also served as head coach of the USC women for four seasons, from 2020-2023, winning the 2021 NCAA Championship and being named MPSF Women’s Coach of the Year three times — in 2021, 2022 and 2023 — and the 2021 National Women’s Coach of the Year. In four seasons leading the USC women, he compiled an 82-9 overall and 24-1 MPSF record.
In his first year at the helm of the USC men’s and women’s programs, Pintaric guided the men to a 16th straight NCAA appearance with a trip to the NCAA Semifinals in 2019. In 2020 with the women, Pintaric had the Women of Troy ranked No. 1 in the nation when competition was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In all, Pintaric has been on the USC staff for nine men’s NCAA titles and six USC women’s national championships since taking on a coaching role in 2001.
A member of USC’s 1998 national championship team as a player, Pintaric was a two-year starter for the Trojans in 1997 and 1998. He recorded 44 goals during the Trojans’ 1998 national championship season and earned National Player of the Year and first team All-America honors. He also earned second team All-America honors in 1997. Pintaric was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team both years. He transferred to USC from the University of Zagreb in Croatia, where he was a member of the Croatian Junior National Team (1989-94).
Prior to coaching at USC, Pintaric served as the varsity coach at Loyola High in Los Angeles during the 1999-2000 school year. He has played club for Shores, Los Angeles Water Polo and New York Athletic Club, where he also was a member of the 2001 summer national championship team and four consecutive winter national championship teams (1999-2002).
In November 2012, Pintaric joined interim head coach Jovan Vavic on the coaching staff for the U.S. Men’s National Team, helping lead Team USA to World Championship qualification with success at the 2013 UANA World Aquatic Championship Qualification Tournament in Canada.
Pintaric graduated from USC in 2000 with a degree in communication and earned his master’s in 2003 in communication management. He and his wife, Beatrice, have two sons, Francesco and Filip.
