Hawai’i HC James Robinson steps down after near-immaculate two-year stretch

HONOLULU – Start those spinning wheels again, there’s another head coaching opening in Mānoa.

University of Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine water polo head coach James Robinson announced that he was stepping down from the program’s top post “to pursue other professional opportunities” on Thursday, ending a strong two-year tenure after taking over following Maureen Cole’s retirement at the end of the 2024 campaign.

Robinson helped UH continue dominance in the pool, winning the Big West regular season and tournament titles in both of his seasons leading the squad. The 31-year-old compiled a record of 38-11 overall in his two seasons in Hawai’i, going a perfect 13-0 in conference play during the regular season (and 6-0 in the postseason) while leading the program to back-to-back national tournament appearances.

The Rainbow Wahine wrapped up the 2026 season with the program’s third consecutive berth to the National Collegiate Women’s Water Polo Championship tournament and 10th overall appearance in the bracket.

Hawai’i ultimately fell against Cal in the quarterfinals of the tournament in 2026, 15-10. The Rainbow Wahine defeated the Bears in the quarterfinal round in 2025, Robinson’s first year, before stumbling in the semifinals against eventual national champion Stanford.

“Sometimes, the coaches have opportunities to go someplace else and there’s a reason for them to make that change,” University of Hawai’i Athletics Director Matt Elliott said in an interview with HSRN. “While he’s still finalizing next steps, he does have another opportunity ahead of him and … in every way, we’re happy for him as a human being but obviously this is a significant change for us to navigate.”

UH will embark on a national search for the program’s next head coach, although associate head coach Candice Vorbeck will serve as the interim HC in the meantime for the Rainbow Wahine.

“Thankful to James for the years he put in here, as both an assistant coach and now recently as a head coach,” Elliott continued. “But our immediate focus is on what are we going to do to best serve our current team and our student-athletes.”

Elliott shared that the school has been in contact with the team’s current players in an effort to reassure that the upcoming head coaching search will move swiftly in hopes to deliver stability before the spring season athletes report in two weeks – a date that Elliott hopes to have a new head voice in place by.

“This will be an accelerated process,” Elliot finished. “We posted the job [on Thursday morning] in real time with making the announcement that there was going to be a change, so our intent is to move through this incredibly quickly.”