Al Acosta, a 1993 University of California, Berkeley graduate who has led the Golden Bears to two NCAA championships, completed his 12th season leading the Cal women's rowing program in 2025-26.

Acosta arrived at Cal in 2014 and made an immediate impact in his first year with the Bears. He led the the team to the 2015 Pac-12 championship and a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships, and was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year. The following season (2016), Acosta guided Cal to the NCAA title and garnered conference and national coach of the year honors.

After another national runner-up finish in 2017, Acosta again led the Bears to the national championship in 2018. Throughout his tenure at Cal, Acosta's teams have run a streak of 12 consecutive appearances at the NCAA Championship.

Acosta, who grew up in Berkeley, attended Berkeley High School and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Cal with a degree in fine arts in 1993, started the Stanford lightweight program in 2001-02 and guided the Cardinal for 13 consecutive years. He led the squad to four straight IRA national titles from 2010-13. Acosta was honored as the National Lightweight Coach of the Year for the first time in 2008, as well as for each of the team’s national championships.

Prior to accepting his role at Stanford, Acosta coached junior boys and girls at one of the country’s top junior programs, the Oakland Strokes, for eight years.

On the national level, Acosta served as chair of the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Lightweight Committee from 2007-09 and served as the Southwest rep to the USRowing Board of Directors from 2014 to 2016. He has also been a head coach and associate head coach at national team development camps for both high school boys and college women.

Acosta and his wife, Linda, have two children and reside in San Francisco.

Title	Name	Email Address
Head Coach	Al Acosta	alacosta@berkeley.edu
Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator	Kirsten Girard	kgirard@berkeley.edu
Assistant Coach/International Recruiting	Kendall Brewer	kendallbrewer@berkeley.edu
Assistant Coach	Peter Mansfeld	p.mansfeld@berkeley.edu

California Golden Bears Athletics

2025-26 Women's Rowing Coaching Staff

Coaching Staff