Scott Schulte Named Men's Assistant Coach for Inaugural World Aquatics WP 4x4 Open Championships

CT Premier is proud to announce that Executive Director Scott Schulte has been named Men's Assistant Coach for the inaugural 2026 World Aquatics Water Polo 4x4 Open Championships, taking place August 31 through September 6 in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

The event marks the first global showcase of Water Polo 4x4, a new discipline built around four players per side, a smaller field of play, and a shorter shot clock. The format is designed to be fast, adaptable to open water and urban venues alike, and accessible to a broader audience than the traditional game. Dubrovnik — a city with more than a century of open-water polo tradition along the Adriatic — will host the debut.

For Schulte, the appointment caps a career that has spanned nearly five decades in the sport, from record-setting player to national team athlete to one of the most recognizable developmental voices in the Northeast.

A record-setting career at Bucknell

A 2026 inductee into the CWPA Hall of Fame, Schulte graduated from Bucknell University in 1981 after one of the most decorated playing careers in the history of Eastern water polo.

He earned All-East honors in each of his four seasons (1977–80) and led the Bison to four consecutive Eastern Championships. When he finished, he owned the NCAA career scoring record with 586 goals and 256 assists for 842 career points — a mark that stood as the standard for years.

Schulte remains the only player ever to finish as the high scorer at four straight NCAA Tournaments, and his 50 career goals in NCAA Championship play is still a record. The Bucknell teams he played on compiled a combined record of 114-15-3.

He was named Second Team All-America in both 1979 and 1980 and was the only player from outside California selected to either squad — a distinction that speaks to how far outside the sport's traditional West Coast pipeline he was operating.

In 1981, Bucknell presented Schulte with the Christy Mathewson Award, given annually to the top athlete in the senior class. He was inducted into the Bucknell Hall of Fame in 1986.

National team and beyond

Schulte represented the United States as a member of the U.S. National Team from 1980 to 1984 and competed at the 1981 World University Games. He was a First Team Indoor All-America selection every year from 1981 through 1985 and was named Most Valuable Player at the Indoor Nationals in both 1981 and 1984.

What it means for CT Premier

Schulte's selection places CT Premier's leadership on the international stage at the launch of a format that World Aquatics expects to carry the sport into new pools, new cities, and new audiences worldwide.

For our athletes and families, it's a reminder of the standard the program is built on — and of the reach a Connecticut club can have when that standard is met.

We'll be following the tournament closely from August 31 through September 6. Best of luck to Coach Schulte and the entire staff in Dubrovnik.