FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — There is a long legacy of lacrosse in the Bernhardt family. Brothers Jared, Jake and Jesse Bernhardt are three of the nation’s premier players. Jared Bernhardt, the youngest of the three, added to his list of accolades Saturday, becoming just the second men’s player out of the University of Maryland to earn the Tewaaraton Award.

Bernhardt and Boston College’s Charlotte North were unveiled as this year’s winners of the award, which annually recognizes the top collegiate male and female in college lacrosse, during halftime of a Premier Lacrosse League championship rematch between Whipsnakes LC and Chaos LC.

The three brothers stood proudly on the field of Gillette Stadium, with Jared in the middle holding his trophy, Jesse on one side in a Maryland polo, and Jake, still in his Whipsnakes uniform on his halftime break, on the other.

Maryland players have won the Tewaaraton Award nine times on the women’s side, but Bernhardt joins just Matt Rambo, the 2017 winner, as the school’s lone recipients of the prestigious honor on the men’s side. Bernhardt is also the only Maryland player to be nominated twice after he finished as a finalist in 2019.

“It feels pretty surreal,” Bernhardt said, still clutching the trophy. “For all the people that came before me, just watching them, I couldn’t have dreamed of this.”

Bernhardt, a four-time USILA All-American, led the Terrapins to the 2021 NCAA championship game on the heels of one of the program’s most dominant single seasons on record. Maryland captured both the Big Ten regular season title as well as the Big Ten tournament title before falling in the NCAA final to Virginia. 

Bernhardt deferred credit to his teammates and coaches. Though he said he came to Maryland to win a national championship, which he did as a freshman in 2017, the senior said he was most thankful for who he gets to share the field with.

“Honestly, credit for this award to my teammates,” Bernhardt said. “We don’t do what we do without all of their experience. I mean, those guys are my best friends.”

All season long, Bernhardt electrified the Terrapins’ offense, setting new Maryland single-season records for goals (71) and points (99). He also cemented his legacy in the Maryland history books by setting career program records in goals (202) and points (290). The Longwood, Fla. native recorded five or more goals in nine games, highlighted by an eight-goal, two-assist performance against Michigan.

Bernhardt led the nation in goals, goals per game (4.60), and points per game (6.27) by a wide margin. His .523 shot percentage ranked fourth in the nation, just behind teammate Daniel Maltz (.535). His unmatched production on the field also earned him the 2021 Lt. Raymond Enners Award as the nation’s most outstanding player.

The other Tewaaraton finalists this year were Chris Gray (North Carolina), Michael Sowers (Duke), Jake Carraway (Georgetown) and Pat Kavanagh (Notre Dame).

Saturday’s ceremony also honored the recipients of the 2021 Native American Scholarships, Fantasy Jimerson-Kenjockety of the Seneca Nation of Indians and Peter Thais of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe.

Kenny DeJohn contributed to this article.