LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree University Athletics and Director of Athletics Anthony Francis officially has removed the interim tag from Alex Figueras, who will presume as the Bearcats' second-ever head coach of the women's water polo program at full capacity. Figueras took over the duties for both the women's and men's programs since January 16th. 

It was recently announced last week that Alex's father, Miguel Figueras, will lead the men's team, assembling a special father-and-son duo in the water polo community and within McKendree University Athletics. 

Francis gave his statement on the promotion of Figueras: 

"We are very excited to bring Alex in as the full-time Head Women's Water Polo coach. He has done a great job to this point in his interim capacity, and we have no doubt that he will continue to build on his success." 

Figueras has been involved in the vigorous aquatic sport of water polo both as a player and as a coach for the past several years. He arrived at McKendree in the late summer of 2023 as an assistant coach for both the men's and women's programs before abruptly becoming interim head coach in the middle of this year. 

Figueras gave his remarks on his new position: 

"I am grateful to my family for their support, to Anthony Francis, Trevor Brumleve, and the athletics department for their belief in me, to the incredible group of women on this team who made my decision an easy one, and to Colleen Lischwe for giving me my start at McKendree.  I'm super excited for our upcoming conference championship and to continue building this program into new territory." 

Coinciding with his duties at McKendree, Figueras has been an integral part of the nearby St. Louis Area Polo (SLAP) as the High School Girls program coach. He was also a player for the SLAP organization for over 10 years before playing collegiately. 

Along with SLAP, he was the assistant coach for the 18U Boys Junior Olympic Team. He received a gold medal with the Team in 2023, and USA Water Polo also recognized Figueras in 2024 as the Midwest Zone's Scholastic Women's Coach. Recently in 2024, he was a co-head coach for the 18U Girls Junior Olympic Team 

Figueras started his collegiate playing career in 2018 at Pitzer College (part of Pomona-Pitzer Athletics), where he helped the Sagehens reach as high as #15 in the national Men's Varsity Top 20 poll and a berth in the National Collegiate (NCAA) tournament after winning the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) with a 24-9 overall record while going a perfect 14-0 in conference play. Figueras also earned Academic All-America honors that year. 

Figueras then went on to attend Washington University in St. Louis for the last four years of his career from 2019-2022 as he was named captain of the team. In his time with the Bears, he was a CWPA All-American honorable mention in 2021. 

He also led WashU to a third-place finish at the D1 club nationals, which is still their highest-ever finish for a D3 program. 

Figueras earned his Bachelor's of Science degree in Business Administration for majoring in marketing and in English from Washington University in St. Louis in 2022. 

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