LA JOLLA, Calif. – Former UC San Diego men’s water polo goalkeeper Jack Turner continues his Olympic journey and has traveled to Croatia to continue his training. Turner is training with Vaterpolski Klub Jug (Jug Water Polo Club) in Dubrovnik.

“This has been a dream come true for me and I am savoring every moment while I’m here,” shared Turner.

Turner is the second former men’s water polo player to make their way overseas in 2020. He joins Kacper Langiewicz, who has been playing for the Kaposvári Vizilabda Klub (Kaposvár VK). Both are members of the USA National Team and are vying for spots on the 2021 Olympic Roster. To read more about Langiewicz’s journey, click here.  

Jug is one of the most historic and well-known professional water polo clubs in the world. Established in 1923, the club has won 38 National Championships and 4 European Champions League titles. Jug is the current Croatian champion.

“This being my first professional experience overseas combined with COVID, I knew I would be challenged both physically and mentally when training with gold and silver medal Olympic medalists,” said Turner. “The team and coaching staff has been extremely welcoming and I’ve already learned a tremendous amount in and out of the pool.”

Recently, Turner and his teammates finished a teambuilding trip to Prevlaka peninsula on the southern tip of Croatia.

Turner graduated UC San Diego in December 2019 after capping off an incredible career with the Tritons. Turner was a First Team All-American three of his four seasons  and was named the ACWPC Division II Player of the Year in 2018. That same season, Turner led the Tritons to a semi-final appearance at the NCAA Championships.

While this is Turner's first professional experience overseas, the Fremont native is no stranger to international competition. In 2019, Turner was named to the Team USA roster for the World University Games and won a silver medal with Team USA. He was named to the Team USA Roster for the 2018 FINA World Cup in Berlin, Germany and earned a start in a win over South Africa.

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program begins a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I.  The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions III and II and helped guide more than 1,300 scholar-athletes to All-America honors.  A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships.  UC San Diego student-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.