LOS ANGELES - LMU's Ikaika Aki has been named the 2026 Golden Coast Conference Coach of the Year, as voted by his peers following the conclusion of the annual championship. Aki claims back-to-back GCC Coach of the Year honors after also earning the award in 2025.
 
Aki led the Lions to both the 2026 GCC regular-season and tournament titles. It marked three straight regular-season championships for the Lions and the program's fourth tournament title, joining the crowns earned in 2014, 2015, and 2025. The Lions extended its conference winning streak to 22 matches dating to April 1, 2023, going unbeaten in conference play in 2024, 2025, and 2026. They earned a conference tournament championship victory to secure the program's 11th trip to the National Collegiate Water Polo Championship—and the second straight appearance.
 
LMU will meet USC (22-3) in the NCAA tournament on Friday, April 24, at Canyonview Pool in La Jolla, California. The winner advances to the national semifinals. Game time is set for 3 p.m. Watch live here >>
 
Ikaika Aki returned to LMU ahead of the Spring 2023 season as the third head coach in the history of the women's water polo program. He is in his fourth season as head coach at LMU in 2026 and enters the NCAA Tournament with a four-year record of 85-34 (.714). 
 
The Lions added yet another standout season under Aki in 2026, posting a 23-4 overall record heading into postseason, with 6-0 mark in conference play and posted a 15-game winning streak on their resume. They enter the NCAA tournament winners of 17 of their last 18.
 
In 2025, Aki guided the Lions to a conference championship season and a breakthrough tournament title, going 20-12 overall and 7-0 in conference play. This came after leading the program to a 27-3 overall record and undefeated 7-0 mark in GCC play in 2024. The team did not lose a game between Feb. 3 and Apr. 27, 2024, as part of a program-record 20-game win streak. LMU also posted a perfect 9-0 record at home that season.
 
Aki returned to the Lions after serving as the head coach of both the boys' and girls' water polo teams at San Clemente High School. Prior to that role, he spent two seasons each as an assistant coach for the men's and women's programs at LMU beginning in 2019, helping navigate the Lions through the shortened 2020 spring season.