Impact Of A Scholarship: Brett Schmidt
10/7/2021
Building a national powerhouse doesn’t happen overnight, and it takes a level of effort, commitment, and talent that doesn’t come around every day.
For years Maryland men’s lacrosse built its program into one recognized nationally as the gold standard. One of the fundamental changes was hiring head coach John Tillman in 2010 as he overtook a team full of veteran leadership.
One of those critical veterans was defenseman Brett Schmidt, a player who epitomized what it meant to be a Maryland student-athlete. Schmidt was tough, a hard worker, and a good teammate.
Just over ten years removed from his time in College Park, Schmidt sees how much his scholarship to Maryland affected his life and how much he loves associating with the school and the lacrosse program.
“It meant the world,” Schmidt said. “It really took me until I got on campus, got involved with the players and the community, and the lacrosse alumni that I realized what an absolute honor it is to play for Maryland.”
I’m not sure you can really say how valuable a scholarship is because they literally change lives. Whether it’s paying for college, allowing you to go to schools you may have never thought about before, and just building new relationships. That’s what mine allowed me to do.Brett Schmidt
Schmidt came to College Park from Maple Glen, Pennsylvania, where he wasn’t always the lacrosse star he became. Golf was his sport of choice, but he got burned out by it when he got to high school.
That’s when lacrosse came into Schmidt’s life, and everything just clicked. He was a three-year letterwinner at Upper Dublin High School, where he helped lead the Cardinals to a 12-6 record as a senior and their first-ever Suburban One League championship.
As a 2007 US Lacrosse High School All-American and 83rd-overall ranked recruit by Inside Lacrosse, Schmidt had his choice of colleges to play at, but something about Maryland stood out to him.
“There is so much history in this program,” Schmidt said. “You can just feel it. I wasn’t as connected to it as other people like Brian Phipps, whose dad played on the national title team. I didn’t have that, but I immediately fell in love with the culture.”
The recruiting class that Schmidt was a part of helped Maryland regain its place as the preeminent lacrosse program in the country.
This school has always had a great history with lacrosse but there was definitely a shift. We had a lot of really talented players and a lot of great coaches and they’ve continued to recruit the right kind of guys. I’m proud to be a part of this amazing group of people.Brett Schmidt
After Tillman came aboard for Schmidt’s senior year, the Terps achieved a 13-5 record, the 2011 ACC championship (the program's first since 2005), and a berth in the NCAA championship game (the first for the Terps since 1998).
Eight Terrapins, Schmidt included, earned All-America honors in that season, which was the most Maryland players selected in a single season since 2004.
Despite not winning the national championship, Schmidt and his teammates paved the way for the program to be in the position that it’s in now and that’s as the preeminent school for lacrosse.
“This school has always had a great history with lacrosse but there was definitely a shift,” Schmidt said. “We had a lot of really talented players and a lot of great coaches and they’ve continued to recruit the right kind of guys. I’m proud to be a part of this amazing group of people.”
After graduating from Maryland, Schmidt moved to Charlotte, North Carolina where he played in Major League Lacrosse with the Charlotte Hounds. The star defenseman pulled double duty as he also worked as a financial advisor for BB&T.
In 2019, Schmidt was ready to hang up the stick and cleats for good but that’s when he caught wind of a brand new lacrosse league that was forming and that would be filled with former Maryland players.
Schmidt signed on to play in the inaugural season of the fledgling Professional Lacrosse League. He was placed on the Whipsnakes, a team that included former Terp teammates Jake Bernhardt, Kevin Cooper, Michael Ehrhardt, John Haus, Jeff Reynolds, Jeremy Sieverts, and Drew Snider. The Whips were also laden with fellow Terp alums in Kyle Bernlohr, Jay Carlson, Mike Chanenchuk, Matt Dunn, Connor Kelly, Joe Locascio, Dylan Maltz, Dan Morris, Tim Muller, Charlie Raffa, Matt Rambo, Tim Rotanz, and Bryce Young.
The 2019 and 2020 seasons resulted in championships for Schmidt and the Whipsnakes. Following the 2020 season, Schmidt announced his retirement from professional lacrosse, concluding the storied career of one of Maryland’s greatest defensemen in school history.
In the midst of all of that, Brett and his wife, Nina, welcomed their first child together, Henry, in November 2019.
At nine months old, Henry was diagnosed with Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), which is an inherited eye disorder that causes severe vision loss at birth. In short, Henry was born blind from a genetic mutation that causes his retinas to not function properly. It is an incredibly rare disease that affects roughly two to three babies out of every 100,000 that are born.
As a family, the last year has been filled with every type of emotion. The diagnosis initially “punched them in the gut,” Schmidt said. “Once we wrapped our heads around the diagnosis, we were motivated to act.. Where can we learn more? Where are the best doctors? How can we provide the best environment for Henry to Thrive? Google became our best friend”
Every day that passes, watching Henry learn, grow, and thrive slowly lifts the anxiety that weighed so heavily on them early on. “It is amazing to watch how well he is doing," Schmidt said. "We can’t wait to see what he can accomplish next.”
The Schmidt’s are now in the phase of going through genetic testing and figuring out how to best combat Henry’s condition through identifying which genetic mutation he has. They are raising money that will go towards finding cures for other gene mutations that cause LCA as well as other blinding diseases.
On Oct. 23 at 11:00 am, the Schmidt’s will take part in the Charlotte VisionWalk where they will be a part of “Team Henry”, and walk to raise money and awareness for LCA and other blinding diseases.
“It is amazing to watch Henry every day and how he navigates the world. He has overcome so many challenges already that he doesn’t even know he has,” Schmidt said. “He has already had such an impact on us as parents and as people. He has changed our perspective on a lot of things for the better. We will do anything in this world help push the ball forward for him and others like him. Raising money for this foundation is one step we can take to support our little man.”
Schmidt personified what it meant to be a student-athlete at Maryland by taking his education seriously and using his degree to work a job while simultaneously playing professional lacrosse.
He credits his scholarship with giving him an opportunity to play the sport he loves, at a school he now considers home, all while getting to do it essentially for free.
“I’m not sure you can really say how valuable a scholarship is because they literally change lives,” Schmidt said. “Whether it’s paying for college, allowing you to go to schools you may have never thought about before, and just building new relationships. That’s what mine allowed me to do.”
Schmidt is at a place in his life where he’s never been happier. He has his wife, his son, and even has another boy on the way due in February. Brett Schmidt the lacrosse player may be retired, but his scholarship encompassed much more than just sports. It helped set him up for his future.
“There are so many people to thank,” Schmidt said. “My family, my teammates, Coach Tillman, and the donors who paid for my scholarship. A big part of who I am is because of my time at Maryland and it wouldn’t have been possible without them.”
