Ryan Castle - Women's Water Polo Coach - Indiana University Athletics

Ryan Castle

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
waterpol@indiana.edu
Phone:
(812) 855-9861

Ryan Castle enters his third season as Indiana's head coach in the 2018-19 academic year.

In 2019, Castle and the Hoosiers joined the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) – the most prestigious and competitive conference in water polo. With the new league came bigger and better opportunities for IU (6-17, 0-6), as the team faced 15 ranked opponents, earning a season-opening win over No. 15 UC San Diego.

Freshman Izzy Mandema was named All-MPSF Honorable-Mention and also earned a spot on the MPSF All-Newcomer Team after totaling 28 goals, eight assists, 10 steals and 12 field blocks. Also, Carlie Crumbaugh, Gillian Gatecliff and Emily Powell were named MPSF All-Academic Scholar Athletes.

During the 2018 season, Castle led the Hoosiers to a four game improvement from his first year, posting a 25-9 overall record. The 25 victories on the season were the most for the Hoosiers since winning 28 in 2012. Indiana posted 10 victories over nationally ranked opponents in 2018 – No. 25 Fresno State, No. 16 UC San Diego, No. 14 UC Santa Barbara, No. 25 Iona, No. 11 Long Beach State, No. UC Davis, No. 22 Harvard, and No. 25 Bucknell.

The Hoosiers underwent a transformational season in Ryan Castle’s first year with the program. Not only did Indiana begin a season with a new head coach for the first time in 17 seasons; they had to do it with four players joining the team after the midway semester break. But Castle looked to his junior class—a group including five players with two full years in the main rotation—and a group of talented new additions to guide his first year as a collegiate head coach.

The results speak for themselves. Castle’s Hoosiers posted a 21-10 record with 10 wins over nationally-ranked programs, and at one point uncorked a 12-game winning streak. That run began with a stunning upset in the opening weekend, an 8-5 win over No. 6 Hawaii marking Indiana’s first win over the Wahine since 2013.

Castle saw two players—Kelly Matthews and Mollie Williams—receive ACWPC All-American honorable mention recognition and spots on the All-CWPA team. Nine of Castle’s student-athletes collected academic honors from the CWPA, ACWPC, and Big Ten Conference. Sarah Myers and Sarah Young also received accolades as Big Ten Distinguished Scholars.

Indiana University Vice President and Director of Athletics Fred Glass announced the hiring of Ryan Castle as the new head coach of the Indiana water polo program on Friday, July 15, 2016. Castle’s experience includes a series of high-profile assistant coaching positions at the collegiate level, along with assistant and head coaching experience on the international stage.

Castle came to Indiana with nine years of collegiate coaching experience in NCAA Division-I water polo. Serving as the associate head coach for the University of Hawai’i for the past two seasons, Castle helped guide the Rainbow Warriors to the 2015 Big West Tournament Championship and an appearance in the 2015 NCAA Championship. Castle served as an interim head coach during the 2016 season, and in that time Hawai’i earned a 13-4 record with five wins over top 10 teams and two of those coming against No. 4 California.

“After a comprehensive national search, we are thrilled to have Ryan Castle as the new leader of Indiana water polo,” Glass said at the time of Castle's hiring. “Ryan has a terrific record of player and team development at both the collegiate and international levels, is a tireless recruiter, a noted tactician and a person who values the tenets of the Spirit of Indiana. We are excited to have Ryan at IU.”

Castle accrued four years of experience in the CWPA prior to his tenure in Manoa, working with the University of Michigan from 2013-2014 and, prior to that, a three-year stint as an assistant at Hartwick College.

Before entering the CWPA, Castle found similar success during his time at Arizona State (2007-2010), highlighted by the 2008 season, where the Sun Devils achieved their highest national ranking (#4) and their highest single-season win total (21) in program history.

“I would like to thank Indiana University and Director of Athletics Fred Glass for the opportunity to lead the Indiana water polo program,” Castle said. “I view Indiana as one of the top programs in the country and I am excited to get started and continue to push IU towards the top. And the 24 Sports, 1 Team mantra is one that I could not be happier to embrace and enhance as we move forward.”

Outside of the collegiate ranks, Castle has honed his craft with international teams, both at the junior and senior levels. Most recently, Castle held the reigns as the head coach of the Kazakhstan Women’s Senior National Team, where he guided Kazakhstan to an appearance at the 2011 FINA World Championships in Shanghai, China. Kazakhstan’s 13^th-place finish at the event was the fourth- highest in the country’s history. During Castle’s tenure, Kazakhstan was ranked as high as 10^th in the world.

Before Kazakhstan, Castle served as the Video Analyst for the New Zealand senior team at the 2009 FINA World Championships. From 2007 to 2009, Castle worked in the US Olympic Development Program by running one of the United States’ under-18 zone teams.

Castle had the opportunity to coach for his home nation of South Africa from 2002 to 2005, and again in 2011, where he assisted with the Women’s Senior National Team and served as head coach for the National ‘B’ Team. In 2003, Castle took charge of the South African Women’s Junior National Team and assisted with the Men’s Junior Team.

A native of Cape Town, South Africa, Castle graduated from the University of Cape Town in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in information systems and earned a post-graduate credential in education in 2003.