Brian Flacks Coaching
After two decades of leading the Stanford men’s water polo program, head coach John Vargas stepped down following the 2021 season, closing the book on a celebrated tenure marked by consistency and competitiveness at the highest level. His departure set off immediate speculation within collegiate water polo circles about his successor, and it wasn’t long before a clear favorite emerged: Brian Flacks.
Flacks, long considered a prodigy in the coaching world, arrived at Stanford in March 2022 with an impeccable résumé—arguably the most successful high school water polo coach in history. His move from the storied Harvard-Westlake program in Los Angeles to the highly competitive collegiate landscape was viewed as both ambitious and inevitable.
Three seasons into his tenure as the Dunlevie Family Director of Men’s Water Polo at Stanford, results haven’t gone as planned. While rivals UCLA and Cal have each captured NCAA titles in that span, and USC is a 3x MPSF tournament champion, Stanford has made just one appearance in the NCAA tournament under three years of Flacks’ leadership.
To some observers, this disparity has raised uncomfortable questions about whether Flacks—despite his pedigree—was prepared for the challenges of the college game. But to reduce the conversation to readiness alone may be overly simplistic, if not entirely unfair.
The better question: What does the data actually reveal?
Comparing Flacks Record to his Peers
Since its inception in 1969, Stanford’s men’s water polo program has had only five head coaches—two of whom account for nearly half a century. From 1977 to 2001, Dante Dettamanti led the Cardinals with a career win percentage of 0.79, followed by John Vargas from 2001 to 2022, who posted a comparable mark of 0.77. In his first three seasons, current head coach Brian Flacks has produced a win-loss percentage that aligns closely with both predecessors.
Stanford Coaching History
Flacks’ record also holds up when measured against his peers in the MPSF. His win-loss percentage is virtually identical to that of longtime Cal coach Kirk Everist and USC’s head coach Marko Pintaric, placing him firmly in line with the standards of the nation’s most established programs.
MPSF Coaches
While Flacks has yet to capture a national title, his win rate suggests he’s keeping pace—not just with the legacy of Stanford coaching greats, but also with the conference’s current elite. In terms of career wins to losses, he’s delivering results on par with the best in the game.
Is Flacks doing anything right?
In at least one key metric, Flacks is not just keeping pace—he’s accelerating. When he took over in 2022, Stanford posted an 0–4 record in MPSF conference play, mirroring the mark left by John Vargas in his final season. Since then, Flacks has shown steady year-over-year improvement, signaling upward momentum.
2022-2024 MPSF Conference Record
What has gone wrong?
By the numbers, Flacks is doing everything right. His win percentage stacks up with Stanford coaching legends and matches the output of top-tier MPSF rivals. So why does postseason success remain elusive? A closer look at Flacks’ tenure reveals recurring obstacles: The MPSF tournament and bad luck.
While Flacks is 3-3 in the MPSF tournament during his career, he has won all of the wrong games. In 2022, No. 4 Stanford wasn’t really on track for an NCAA tournament berth—but losing to No. 2 Cal in the semifinals paired with No. 3 USC clinching the MPSF’s automatic bid knocked the Cardinals out for good.
The following year, Flacks kept Stanford in contention for the NCAA tournament despite a brutal stroke of bad luck: both starting goalies went down with injuries, forcing the team to elevate a club-level goalkeeper to the starting roster. Still, the Cardinals stayed in the fight throughout the regular season—until, they lost an MPSF tournament OT heartbreaker to No. 3 USC which sealed their exclusion from the NCAA tournament.
And in 2024, the story was heartbreakingly familiar. Going into the MPSF tournament, No. 2 Stanford had its best odds yet, with a roster proven strong enough to take down No. 1 UCLA. But a loss to No. 3 USC in the semifinals, combined with a USC victory in the finals win snatched the No. 2 seed away from Stanford, forcing Flacks into a NCAA semifinal showdown with a juggernaut No. 1 UCLA squad two weeks later. Stanford fought valiantly, but ultimately fell short of the illusive championship match.
Moving Forward
A closer examination of Flack’s past three years reveals a fundamental truth: it’s simply too early to pass judgment on the trajectory of his career. While the journey has been marked by both challenges and successes, the true measure of his potential will likely unfold in the years to come, making any definitive conclusions premature at best.
Leave a Reply