Augustana College’s Ryan Pryor & McKendree University’s Colleen Lischwe Honored with Monte Nitzkowski & Sandy Nitta Distinguished Coach Awards by USA Water Polo
BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Augustana College head coach Ryan Pryor and former McKendree University head coach Colleen Lischwe were named the 2024 Monte Nitzkowski and Sandy Nitta Distinguished Coaching National Award recipients by USA Water Polo.
Ryan Pryor – Monte Nitzkowski Distinguished Coaching National Award Winner (Men’s Elite)
Ryan Pryor came to Augustana College in the summer of 2020 as the program’s inaugural coach. The men’s and women’s programs began competition in the 2021-22 academic year and have since won three consecutive Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) East Championships (Men: 2022, 2023, 2024) and Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championships (Women: 2023, 2024, 2025). Both programs have qualified for the USA Water Polo Division III National Championship a total of six times, both finishing third in their most recent appearances with the women slated to compete in the 2025 field on May 3-4. Prior to Augustana, Pryor spent six years as the head coach at Virginia Military Institute. His .563 winning percentage at VMI is the fifth highest winning percentage in the history of VMI athletics across all sports (among coaches with 5+ seasons) and the highest since 1985.
Colleen Lischwe – Sandy Nitta Distinguished Coaching National Award Winner (Women’s Elite)
Colleen Lischwe served as the head coach of both the men’s and women’s water polo teams at McKendree University prior to her passing on January 15, 2025. On the women’s side, in her first season with McKendree, Lischwe was selected as the 2017 CWPA Women’s Collegiate Club Midwest Division Coach of the Year. Prior to the start of the 2020 season, Lischwe was awarded the 2019 Sandy Nitta Distinguished Coaching Award in the Midwest Zone by USA Water Polo for her work developing women’s water polo at the collegiate level. The 2022 team won a school record 16 games and finished with a 16-7 overall record, which was the program’s first-ever winning record. During her first season at the helm of the men’s squad, Lischwe earned the 2018 Coach of the Year Award at the CWPA Division II Championship and was presented with the Dick Russell Coach of the Year Award at the 2018 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC)-West Championship. Additionally, McKendree won their first MAWPC-West Championship, ending the 20-game winning streak of Gannon University along the way and defeating Salem International University in the finals. Following the win, McKendree made their first appearance at the MAWPC Championship Tournament. In 2018, Lischwe was honored with the Monte Nitzkowski Distinguished Coaching Award for the Midwest Zone by USA Water Polo. In 2020-21, the men’s season was played in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Bearcats went a perfect 7-0 and captured the MAWPC-West Championship as Lischwe was named the Coach of the Tournament. Prior to coaching at McKendree, Lischwe served as the head water polo coach at Kirkwood High School in St. Louis, MO. Additionally, Lischwe acted as the Midwest Zone Women’s Cadet Coach from 2010-2016 through the USA Water Polo’s Olympic Development Program and reprised this role in 2019.
