SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — UC Santa Barbara Women's Water Polo Head Coach Serela Kay has announced two additions to her coaching staff, bringing in Emma Myall as an assistant coach as well as former Gaucho Kenzi Snyder, who will serve as a second assistant working primarily with the goalkeepers.
 
"I am grateful for the opportunity to add both Emma and Kenzi to the coaching staff," Kay said. "Not only is it more eyes on deck, additional support for the student athletes and the program, but also they both provide a different perspective and set of skills."
 
Like Snyder, Myall played collegiate water polo, doing so at Pacific in the Golden Coast Conference. During her senior year in 2021, Myall also volunteered as an assistant coach with the Tigers' men's water polo program and coached the junior varsity girls' water polo team at St. Mary's High School in Stockton.
 
"Competing in another conference, and also abroad, allows Emma to share fresh ideas right away," Kay said. "She will be a great asset with logistics and scouting in addition to her role on the pool deck, and her sparkplug energy ignites passion in anyone she is around."
 
Following her graduation from Pacific, Myall attended Durham University in Durham, England, which was named the United Kingdom's Sports University of the Year for 2023. There, she earned her master's degree in Management Entrepreneurship. Her bachelor's degree is in Sports Science and Sports Education.  
 
Myall's fellow newcomer to the coaching staff is a familiar face. Snyder was a fantastic goalie for the Gauchos as a student-athlete and now returns to work with the current crop of keepers.
 
"As one of the program's best-ever goalkeepers, Kenzi knows the program well and her success as a player speaks for itself," Kay said. "While her primary focus will be on the goalkeepers, her love for the game and investment in the program will allow the footprint to grow deeper."
 
A Second-Team All-American and team captain as a player, Snyder began her water polo coaching career at the high school level following her graduation from UC Santa Barbara. She coached girls water polo at San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara from 2020 to 2022, then took the same job at Newport Harbor High School in Newport Beach. Now, Snyder returns to her alma mater for her first collegiate coaching position.
 
Snyder received her bachelor's degree in Geography from UC Santa Barbara in 2019 and went on to earn a master's in Cybersecurity from Grand Canyon University in 2023.
 
Myall and Snyder join the Gauchos as they prepare for the 2024 season, looking to build on a 2023 campaign in which UC Santa Barbara posted an 18-11 record but finished sixth in The Big West and fell in the first round of the conference tournament.