Larry Sanders was named the Head Coach on September 14th, 2018, and is entering his fourth season on the staff.
Since taking the helm of the Villanova program, Sanders has coached student-athletes to a pair of All-MAAC honors in the pool and a plethora of academic accolades.
In his first season, Sanders coached one student-athlete to All-MAAC Second Team honors. A total of 10 student-athletes were named to the MAAC All-Academic team, 14 to the 2019 Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Women's Scholar-Athlete team and 14 to the 2018-19 MAAC Academic Honor Roll.
Year two saw his group play an abbreviated schedule due to the global pandemic halting all activity from mid-March 2020 through the remainder of the season. Despite the shortened slate, four Wildcats were named to the MAAC All-Academic team, nine to both the ACWPA Women's Scholar-Athlete team and MAAC Academic Honor Roll.
The 2021 campaign brought an 8-6 record with a 4-4 showing in MAAC contests. One student-athlete earned All-MAAC Second Team honors with six earning All-Academic laurels from the conference and 11 on the MAAC Academic Honor Roll. Eleven Wildcats were also tabbed ACWPC Academic All-Americans by the end of the season.
His fourth season at the helm saw the 'Cats collect the second-most wins in program history with 20. The year came with various record book resets, scoring a program-best 415 goals on well-over 1,000 shots, a shooting threshold that has only been seen one other time in team history when the 2013 squad attempted 1,004 shots. His group won a program-best 112 sprints and had a record 97 field blocks. The team bested previous leads in those categories by large numbers with the 2012 team swatting 37 field blocks and the 2013 crew winning 77.5 sprints. Kaysie Stuba became the program's first ACWPC All-American, earning Honorable Mention status after being an All-MAAC First-Team selection, as well. By season's end, 17 Wildcats made it on the MAAC Academic Honor Roll with 16 of those landing on the ACWPC All-Academic List.
Sanders comes to Villanova from San Diego State University where he was the head coach of the men's club program for the last seven years. In addition to leading his team to the National Collegiate Club championship in 2017, Sanders was the Pacific Division Coach of the Year in 2013 and 2014 and the Southwest Division Coach of the Year in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
"I am so grateful for the opportunity to coach at Villanova," said Sanders. "The program has great potential and I am looking forward to working with the incredible student-athletes that Villanova has to offer."
Prior to his stint at San Diego State, Sanders was the head women's water polo coach at the University of California San Diego from 1999-2009.
Sanders graduated in 1990 from UCSD, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a minor in History. For his efforts in 1987, he was named a water polo All-American. In 2016, he got his Masters in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University.
