Johnny Bega was appointed San Jose State University's women's water polo head coach in July 2014 after eight years in various coaching capacities. Four of the Spartans’ five 20-win seasons occurred since he first joined the program after the 2006 season.
Bega has 61 coaching wins and three 20-win seasons on his ledger, despite only one season as the program’s full-time head coach. The most recent 20-win season was in 2015 when San Jose State posted a 21-10 win-loss record, finished fifth at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Tournament and eighth in the final national coaches poll.
He was named the interim head coach in December 2013 following the untimely death of long-time head coach Lou Tully. The 2014 team was 20-13 and recorded three wins against teams ranked eighth or higher nationally at the time of the contest.
With a team that set a program record for scoring with 393 goals, despite his interim status and playing in the toughest conference in the country, Bega was named the 2014 MPSF Coach of the Year. The Spartans were seventh in the final national coaches poll.
From 2009 through 2013, he was the associate head coach. Bega joined San Jose State as an assistant coach in 2006, after spending 2006 as the volunteer assistant women's water polo coach at Santa Clara University.
During the 2009 season, Bega handled many of the game-day head coaching responsibilities when Mr. Tully was undergoing medical treatments. The Spartans posted a 20-14 win-loss record, set a then single-season school record with 377 goals scored and finished sixth in the final national coaches' poll.
Bega also has international coaching experience. He developed a strong background at the international level when he was the USA national Zone 11 junior girls' and youth boys' head coach. From 1997 until 2001, Bega coached water polo in Japan, Hungary, Brazil, Greece and Holland. During the summer of 2014, Bega and the Spartans spent 10 days touring, training and playing exhibitions in Spain and Hungary.
The Spartans' head coach also has a winning history coaching at the club and high school level. As the head coach of the Long Beach Shore Aquatics club team from 1996 until 2002, his teams won five gold medals, seven silver medals and four bronze medals at the Junior Olympics.
His success in the prep ranks began at Wilson High School in Long Beach, Calif. While there, Wilson earned the CIF boys Division I title three times. He also claimed the 2001 Sunset League boys and girls titles as the head coach at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, Calif. In 2007, Bega led the Menlo-Atherton High School boys' team to the C.I.F. Division I championship.
The 1999 Long Beach State graduate majored in vocational education. Bega, his wife, Alexandra, and daughter, Kiera, reside in San Jose.
| Johnny Bega at SJSU | Position | Team Record | Final National Ranking |
| 2007 | Assistant Coach | 16-13 | 6th |
| 2008 | Assistant Coach | 16-15 | 7th |
| 2009 | Associate Head Coach | 20-14 | 6th |
| 2010 | Associate Head Coach | 17-14 | 7th |
| 2011 | Associate Head Coach | 21-13 | 5th |
| 2012 | Associate Head Coach | 19-13 | 9th |
| 2013 | Associate Head Coach | 12-12 | 12th |
| 2014 | Interim Head Coach | 20-13 | 7th |
| 2015 | Head Coach | 21-10 | 8th |
| Coaching Record (3 seasons) | 61-37 |