Men's Water Polo

William "Willo" Rodriguez enters his third season as the head coach of La Verne's men's and women's water polo teams.

Rodriguez quickly restored respectability to both programs in his first season. The men finished sixth in the SCIAC standings while picking up four SCIAC wins and beating powerhouses Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer. The women went through a bigger turnaround, finishing fifth in the SCIAC while earning its first wins over Cal Lutheran and Occidental in nearly a decade and notched five SCIAC wins for the first time in recent memory.

The women's team continued their upward trajectory in 2016 and posted its best season in memory as it posted an 18-6 overall record. The Leopards went 8-3 in the SCIAC and reached the championship game of the 2016 SCIAC Women's Water Polo Postseason Tournament for the first time in history before falling short against Whittier. La Verne finished second in the SCIAC, which is the highest finish in program history. At the conclusion of the season, Guarina Garcia was named the SCIAC Newcomer of the Year and ACWPC First Team All-America and Stephanie Rosero was named Second Team All-America. 

Prior to La Verne Rodriguez served as coach and Director of Operations at NCAA Division I Pepperdine from 2012-14. He previously served as Pepperdine's assistant coach in 2006 and 2007.

As the interim co-head coach of the Waves in 2012, Rodriguez helped Pepperdine to an 11-13 overall record and the team achieved a national ranking as high as No. 4 during the regular season.

During his first stint as an assistant coach at Pepperdine, Rodriguez helped the Waves to an overall record of 40-27 and a pair of national top-10 rankings.

Before he returned to Pepperdine in 2012, Rodriguez served as an assistant men's and women's water polo coach at USC from 2010-12 during which the Trojans claimed two national championships.

Prior to USC, Rodriguez spent the 2009-10 season as the assistant women's water polo coach at Rio Hondo College.

During his two-season playing career at Pepperdine in 2001 and 2002, Rodriguez was known as one of the team's top drivers and helped the Waves compile a 30-16 overall record. The 2002 campaign saw the Waves post a 16-10 overall record and a first-place finish in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation with a 7-1 mark. The Waves ended that year with a No. 3 national ranking.

Prior to his two seasons at Pepperdine, Rodriguez led West Valley College, located in Saratoga, Calif., to consecutive state championships while earning All-American honors.

A standout performer both before and after his collegiate career, Rodriguez earned a spot on the 1995 Puerto Rican Junior National team. In 2003, he competed with the Puerto Rican National Team at the Olympic Qualifying tournament held in Rio do Janeiro, Brazil.

Some of his numerous stops in the international water polo circuit included Spain, Croatia, Cuba, Brazil and Greece. Rodriguez graduated from Pepperdine in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in international studies and earned a master's degree from Azusa Pacific in physical education in 2010. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in educational organizational leadership from Pepperdine.