Carlee Kapana

Biography

Carlee Kapana enters her first season as an assistant coach for USC women’s water polo staff. Kapana brings elite playing experience, a championship mindset, and a deep knowledge of defensive and goalkeeper play. A standout goalkeeper at UCLA, Kapana leaves one of the most decorated careers in program history and now brings her passion for mentoring and athlete development to the Trojan family. During her four-year career at UCLA, Kapana established herself as one of the top goalkeepers in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) and on the national stage. She finished her career with 723 total saves, ranking third all-time on UCLA’s career chart. Kapana also gained international experience representing the USA Junior National Team at the 2017 FINA Junior World Championships and was part of youth national teams that captured titles at world and Pan American competitions. An alum of Newport Harbor High School, Kapana served as an assistant coach for the Sailors from 2019-2025. With Newport Beach Water Polo Club, she served as an assistant coach for 18-, 16-, and 14-under girls teams, and helped guide the 16-unders to a gold medal at the 2025 Junior Olympics. She also helped lead the 14-unders to two gold medals (2023 and 2025) and one silver medal (2024) at the Junior Olympics. Kapana has also served as a graduate assistant for both the men’s and women’s water polo teams at Concordia University for the past three years (2023-2025).