“We are thrilled to have Jesse return to the Maryland men’s lacrosse program,” head coach John Tillman said when Bernhardt was hired. “Jesse has had success in our system as both a player and a coach. He will be a valuable asset to our program as he remains one of the best players in the world at his position. I am confident he will be an excellent mentor and role model for our student-athletes and we are fortunate to have him.”
A 2013 graduate of the University of Maryland, Bernhardt has quickly ascended the coaching ranks and built a reputation as one of the brightest young defensive minds in college lacrosse.
Bernhardt has had success at all levels of lacrosse, winning two World Championships with Team USA and a Major League Lacrosse Championship with the Chesapeake Bayhawks, while also appearing multiple times as both a player and a coach at the NCAA's Championship weekend. In the spring of 2020, Chrome LC selected Bernhardt second overall in the Premier Lacrosse League entry draft. Today, Bernhardt remains on the Chrome as a team captain. In 2023, Bernhardt not only earned a spot on his third World Championship team, he also was named one of just three team captains.
In his seventh season at Maryland in 2024, Bernhardt led a terrific defensive unit for the Terps, who made it to the Final Four and National Championship game. Maryland's defense was especially terrific in the postseason, holding Princeton (First Round) and Virginia (Semifinals) to eight goals or less.
Defenseman Ajax Zappitello was named the USILA Raymond J. Enners Outstanding Player of the Year, the first close defenseman to win the award since 1993. Additionally, Zappitello brought home Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors, making it four straight seasons that a Terp has won the award.
Bernhardt helped lead Maryland to its 20th straight postseason appearance in 2023. Under his guidance, Brett Makar, Ajax Zappitello, John Geppert and Dante Trader Jr. all earned USILA All-American honors. Makar was drafted third overall in the 2023 PLL Draft by the Atlas Lacrosse Club and was named back-to-back Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
Under Bernhardt in 2022, the Terrapin defense obtained massive success and was a vital part of the program's National Championship run that resulted in the first-ever team to finish a season 18-0. Bernhardt coached four defensive players to USILA All-American status. Additionally, the defense was the strongest when it mattered most as the Terps didn’t allow more than nine goals in their final five games.
Bernhardt led one of the most formidable defensive units in the nation in 2021, anchoring the Terrapins to the Big Ten Regular Season and Tournament Championships and the National Championship game. Defensemen Nick Grill and Brett Makar were both named Second Team USILA All-Americans and All-Big Ten performers, while Grill was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year under his tutelage. Roman Puglise also garnered USILA All-American and All-Big Ten accolades.
Maryland’s defense put on master class performance in the NCAA Semifinals, holding Duke to just five goals – their fewest in a game since 2013 as Maryland secured a 14-5 victory. The performance was the crown jewel of an impressive 15-game winning streak throughout the 2021 campaign, where Maryland held its opponents to under 10 goals in seven games.
Close defenseman Brett Makar and short stick defensive midfielder Roman Puglise both earned Inside Lacrosse Media All-America honors under Bernhardt during the shortened 2020 season due to COVID-19 where the Terps went 5-1.
Senior defenseman Curtis Corley earned USILA All-American honors under Bernhardt's guidance in 2019, and was drafted 12th overall in the Premier Lacrosse League draft by Archers LC. Maryland was a top-25 defense under Bernhardt in 2019, advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinal round for the sixth straight season.
In his first season with the Terps as assistant coach, Bernhardt helped lead the 2018 program to its fifth consecutive Final Four. His man-down defensive unit was sensational, ranking fifth nationally with a 78-percent success rate, while senior defender Bryce Young and senior goalkeeper Dan Morris were named USILA All-Americans.
Bernhardt comes to Maryland after spending one season as defensive coordinator at Princeton, where he helped produce a first-team All-Ivy League goalie, a first-team All-Ivy League defenseman and two freshmen defenders who were named freshmen All-Americas by College Crosse.
Prior to Princeton, he spent two years as an assistant coach at Rutgers, helping the program into the national spotlight while coaching defense and face-offs. The Scarlet Knights defense was ranked 48th in Division I the year before Bernhardt arrived and since has improved to 35th in 2015 and 29th in 2016, at 9.88 goals against per game.
Rutgers went 11-5 in 2016, with a pair of wins over Johns Hopkins and a spot in the Big Ten championship game. The Scarlet Knights were ranked 16th in the final poll of the year.
Bernhardt began his college coaching career in 2014 as Maryland’s volunteer assistant coach, helping the Terrapins reach the NCAA Final Four.
As a player, Bernhardt has enjoyed extraordinary success at the collegiate and professional levels. Playing for Maryland, Bernhardt was a two-time captain and two-time USILA All-American, in addition to being named a USILA Scholar All-American. He was the ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Year as a junior in 2012.
Bernhardt is currently a close defenseman and team captain for the Chrome Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League. Before his time in the PLL, he won a Major League Lacrosse Championship with the Chesapeake Bayhawks in 2013 and earned multiple MLL All-Star nods.
Bernhardt also has experience at the international level, helping Team USA to a gold medal finish at both the 2018 and 2023 World Lacrosse Championship and a runner-up finish in 2014.
Bernhardt’s older brother, Jake, played at Maryland from 2009-13, while his younger brother, Jared, is currently on the Maryland staff.
Bernhardt's Honor Roll as a Player
• 2023 Team USA - Gold Medal at World Championships
• 2020 PLL Entry Draft Choice (2
nd overall – Chrome LC)
• 2019 MLL Champion – Chesapeake Bayhawks
• 2018 Team USA - Gold Medal at World Championships
• MLL All-Star
• 2014 Team USA - Silver Medal at World Championships
• 2x Team Captain at Maryland (2012, 2013)
• 2x USILA All-American (2013 - 1st Team, 2012 - 2nd Team)
• 2x All-ACC (2012, 2013)
• 2x All-ACC Academic Team (2012, 2013)
• 2013 USILA Scholar All-American
• 2013 Senior CLASS Award Finalist
• 2013 MLL Draft Choice (4th overall - Chesapeake)
• 2012 NCAA All-Tournament Team
• 2012 ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Year
