Johnny Bega, a NCAA National Champion while on the staff at Cal and a longtime San Jose State coach, was named the first head men's and women's water polo coach at University of California, Merced, by Executive Director of Athletics David Dunham on September 6, 2022.
"I am excited to have Johnny to lead the start up of our men's and women's water polo teams," Dunham said. "He brings a wealth of experience from all levels of water polo and his experience with water polo in the Valley will allow us to build a successful program. I look forward to working with him to grow our water polo programs."
In 2023, Bega led UC Merced to 13 wins overall including a pair of wins over WWPA opponent Fresno Pacific University and a win over Cal Pac Champion Westcliff University. The Bobcats also put up 19+ goals against a trio of NCAA Division III opponents and won three out of four matches at the Gary Troyer Tournament. Killian Nguyen (85 goals), Camden Peterson (79 goals), and William Pezold (60 goals) all earned All-California Pacific Conference honors.
In his first season at the helm of UC Merced’s men’s team, Bega led the Bobcats to a third-place finish at the NAIA Water Polo Finals and a seventh-place finish in the CWPA Club Sierra Pacific Division Championship. On October 9, UC Merced won its first game of the inaugural season with a 16-8 win over Cal State Monterey Bay’s Club Team.
Bega was key in aiding in the development of Devin Verma, who was named UC Merced’s NAIA Water Polo Finals MVP and finished with a team-best 77 goals on the campaign. Bega also mentored Arthur Ashe Jr. Sport Winner Renato Santome-Guembes.
With the women, Bega’s team won the 2024 California Pacific Conference Championship and took first in the 2023 CWPA Club Sierra Pacific “B” Division Championship. Bega’s team took third in the NAIA Water Polo Finals in 2023 and finished runner-up in the NAIA West Invitational the following year.
Bega came to UC Merced with over 25 years of coaching experience across various levels and has been a part of winning teams at every stop of his coaching career. Bega has also worked with some of the world's brightest water polo minds.
Bega was an assistant coach at Cal under Kirk Everist where he helped the Golden Bears men's team during their run to the 2016 NCAA Championship. Bega moved to Cal after ten years at San Jose State, including three years as the head women's water polo coach.
Bega led San Jose State to a pair of top-10 final rankings and 20-win seasons in his three years at the helm. The Atwater High School and Long Beach State alum was named the MPSF Coach of the Year in his interim year in 2014. Bega's team set school records for most goals in a season with 393 that year and defeated three top-ten teams. Bega holds a collegiate head coaching record of 61-37.
Bega was the Associate Head Coach at SJSU under the late longtime women's water polo head coach Lou Tully from 2009-13 and was an assistant coach as early as the 2006 season.
Most recently, Bega served as the Aquatics Director at Great Wolf Lodge in Colorado Springs, CO., while also running water polo youth camps nationwide from California to Florida. Bega has also been working with five-time Olympian and Water Polo Silver Medalist Tony Azevedo and 6-8 sports.
Bega had stints as a volunteer assistant coach at Santa Clara and Long Beach State prior to San Jose State. In addition, he has reached lofty heights of success at several high schools and clubs around California, winning multiple CIF Division One titles and several medals at Junior Olympics.
On the international level, Bega has served as the USA National Zone 11 junior girls and youth boys head coach. From 1997-2001, he coached in Japan, Hungary, Brazil, Greece and Holland.
The 1999 Long Beach State graduate majored in vocational education. Bega relocates to the Central Valley from Colorado with his wife Alexandra, daughter Keira, and two English bulldogs.
