Gabby Juarez (she/they/them) was the creator and inaugural head coach for both the LIU men’s and women’s water polo programs. Juarez was promoted to director of water polo in 2022-23.
On the women's side, Gabrielle Juarez, a UCLA alum, leaves her position with a winning record of 86-43 . In her tenure, she led the Sharks to a gaudy 46-9 conference record, good for an .833% conference winning percentage. As the first head coach of the women's program, Juarez led the Sharks to a 2023 conference championship and a 2021 regular season title. In 2022, Juarez created the men's water polo program. In 2023, Juarez was the only female head coach coaching Division I men's water polo in the country.
With the women, Juarez produced three ACWPC All-American selections (2022-2024), a MAAC Offensive Player of the Year (2024), a MAAC Conference Champion MVP (2023), a MAAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year (2022), and a MAAC Rookie of the Year (2021). She's led five players to earn All-MAAC Championship Team honors (2022-2023), 10 players to earn MAAC Player of the Week honors (2021-2024), and a total of 10 players to earn MAAC Postseason honors (2021-2024). Juarez created a women's water polo team that has been nationally ranked each season since 2021.
In the classroom, the women's water polo team led the MAAC conference in All-Academic selections in 2022 and 2023. LIU women's water polo has had a total of 44 All-MAAC Academic selections (2021-2024). Juarez has coached a total of 50 ACWPC All-American selections in her career.
On the men's side, in their first year in the NWPC conference, Juarez produced a NWPC Second-Team All-Conference Selection (2023). In the classroom the men had six CWPA All-Academic selections (2023).
In 2023-2024, Juarez led the women to a 22-7 record and a conference record of 10-2. Their most notable win was over Pacific (ranked 20th) in double overtime. In 2024, Paola Dominguez was awarded Offensive Player of the Year. LIU had a total of five athletes earn MAAC Postseason awards, a record for the program.
In 2022-2023, Juarez led the LIU women to their first MAAC championship and first NCAA tournament appearance. LIU overcame a three-goal deficit in the fourth period of the title game to take home the crown. The Sharks tied it up at 11 in the final seconds of regulation and in overtime, LIU would produce two goals to propel itself to a 13-12 victory.
Juarez would lead LIU to snap Wagner’s 100-game win streak over conference opponents.
Alongside LIU’s first MAAC championship, the women's team was consistently ranked in the top 25 team throughout the 2022-2023 season. The Sharks earned their second top-15 program win over UC San Diego on Jan. 29, 2023. The women's water polo team earned a No. 20 ranking in the final College Water Polo Association poll for that season.
During LIU's 2021-22 season, Juarez led the Sharks to their most successful regular season where they went 25-7, leading to their highest ranking in program history. LIU ascended to 17th in the country after topping No. 10 Indiana on Feb. 9, 2022. LIU captured its first regular-season championship in 2020-21 and Juarez then led the Sharks to the MAAC finals the following year.
Along with LIU's success in the pool, the Sharks landed a conference-best 13 student-athletes on the MAAC All-Academic Team. The women's water polo team earned a No. 23 ranking in the final College Water Polo Association poll.
Juarez’s coaching career began at her alma mater, Whittier High School. In 2018, Juarez was awarded USAWP's Brent Bohlender Distinguished Coaching Award for the Northeast Zone for coaching Brooklyn Hustle at the Junior Olympics.
Juarez played water polo for UCLA. The Bruins won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship and placed third at the NCAA Championships during her time with the program.
A native of East Los Angeles, Calif., Juarez began playing at Whittier High School and Commerce Aquatics. At Commerce, Juarez was an All-American selection at the Junior Olympics and the starting 2MO.
