Utsumi Departs Stanford
STANFORD, Calif. - Kyle Utsumi has been named the Associate Head Coach of Water Polo at Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii, completing a 15-year appointment as the volunteer assistant coach of the Stanford women's water polo program.
One of the longest-tenured volunteer assistant coaches in the history of Stanford Athletics, Utsumi has been a fixture on the coaching staff since 2008, helping guide the Cardinal to seven NCAA championships and a combined record of 354-45.
Utsumi has enjoyed success at every level of the sport, with a decorated resume ranging from Olympic competition to more than 20 years of coaching experience at the masters, high school and club ranks.
"The past 15 years have been filled with so many highlights in the pool," said Utsumi. "Equally as rewarding has been the opportunity to watch the student-athletes develop as people throughout their time at Stanford and beyond."
"Kyle has been extraordinarily valuable to our students, teams and program," said John Tanner, Stanford's Dunlevie Family Director of Women's Water Polo. "Kyle is a brilliant teacher who works tirelessly to ensure our student-athletes thrive in the biggest moments. Kyle's 15-year legacy includes Olympic Gold Medalists, NCAA Champions and lifelong learners and leaders, all grateful for his loyalty, diligence and guidance. Although we will miss him greatly, we are excited for the many students whose lives he will impact at Punahou."
Instrumental in Stanford's player development efforts over the last 15 years, Utsumi has mentored some of the sport's most high-profile performers and helped the Cardinal produce seven Peter J. Cutino Award recipients, eight ACWPC Player of the Year honorees and 85 All-America selections during his time on the deck.
Utsumi served as the USA Water Polo Olympic Team staff videographer, as the women's team captured the bronze medal in 2008 and silver in 2008.
Utsumi also served as the head coach of the U.S. Junior National Team from 2004-09, following a stint as head coach of the U.S. Youth National Team from 2001-04. His coaching success at the junior level includes gold medals at the 2004 Junior Pan-American Games and 2005 Junior World Championships. Utsumi was also named the USA Water Polo Women's Elite Coach of the Year in 2004.
A native of Fullerton, California, Utsumi previously served as head coach of the Menlo School girls' water polo team, which he guided to nine league and three Central Coast Section titles over nine seasons.
Beginning his coaching career in 1993, Utsumi helmed the Stanford Water Polo Foundation club from 1994-2019, tutoring every age group during that time and starting both the boys and girls 14-under programs.
Utsumi, who played at Stanford in 1991 under head coach Dante Dettamanti, graduated in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in economics. Utsumi also earned his master's in sociology from Stanford in 1996.
A co-founder of the Brenda Villa Foundation, Utsumi is also a board member for Alliance for Diversity and Equity in Water Polo (ADEWP).
Utsumi is also the author of Sydney's Silver Lining, which chronicles the journey of the 2000 USA Women's Olympic Team, including the decades-long fight to include women's water polo in the Olympic Games and the Olympic final in Sydney, played in front of a record crowd of 17,000 spectators.