Alyssa Diacono enters her second season in 2025-26 as Head Coach of Men’s Water Polo/Physical Education & Wellness Instructor.
In her first season with the Engineers she guided the team to a 9-18 record and a fourth-place finish at the USA Water Polo Division III Championships. Junior Adam Ivatorov was named an ACWPC Second Team All-American and sophomore Rick Lundh earned Honorable Mention All-American.
In addition to her responsibilities with Appalachia Water Polo, Diacono is currently the Women’s Cadet National Team Leader at USA Water Polo. She was formerly the first-ever Head Coach of Men’s and Women’s Water Polo at Mount St. Mary’s University from March 2020- August 2023.
Diacono spent two seasons as a Women’s Graduate Assistant Coach at Mercyhurst University from 2018-2020 before taking over as the Head Coach of Men’s and Women’s Water Polo at Mount St. Mary’s University in March of 2020. Despite challenging circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic, she helped lead both the men’s and women’s teams at “The Mount” to winning records by each of the program’s third seasons, as the women’s team qualified for the MAAC quarterfinals in 2022-23.
Following her tenure at Mount St. Mary’s, Diacono was the Assistant Director of Operations & Community Programs at Fairmont State University. She also has prior coaching experience at the high school level, including an eight-year tenure as an assistant coach at Tesoro High School and an internship with the Mission Viejo Nadadores Swim Team.
Diacono earned her Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from Mercyhurst University in 2020 and a Bachelor of Science in Health and Human Sciences from San Diego State University (SDSU) in 2017. She also holds certifications as a Personal Trainer, CrossFit Level 1 Trainer, and Nutrition Coach.
A four-year standout water polo student-athlete at San Diego State (SDSU), Diacono was a two-year captain and a two-time Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Honorable Mention All-American in 2015 and 2016. She was named a Golden Coast Conference (GCC) First Team Selection in 2015 and 2016 and earned a GCC All-Tournament Team selection in 2015 and an honorable mention All-GCC selection during her first season in 2014. In addition to her accomplishments in the pool, Diacono was a four-time GCC All-Academic and Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Team honoree.
She concluded her career with 158 goals, 90 steals, 23 assists and 17 saves as the Aztecs won four consecutive GCC regular season titles and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2016. She was named SDSU’s Female Student-Athlete of the Year and nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award in 2017. Following her collegiate career, she played water polo professionally, for the University of Western Australia Women’s Water Polo Team and the The Exiles Sports Club in Malta.
