Colby College

Jake Bernhardt enters his third as the Jack Sandler Memorial Men's Lacrosse Head Coach for the 2025-26 academic year.

An industry icon with extensive collegiate and professional playing experience as well as coaching successes at the University of Maryland and the University of Vermont, he becomes the second coach at Colby to hold the title of Jack Sandler Memorial Men's Lacrosse Head Coach. 

Bernhardt comes to Mayflower Hill after guiding the University of Maryland Terrapins to a 10-4 record and a #4 ranking heading into the 2023 NCAA Tournament as the offensive coordinator. Prior to last season, he served as the associate head coach at the University of Vermont, where he guided the Catamounts to two America East Championships, a national ranking that shot as high as 12^th in the country, and their program's first two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2021 and 2022. A graduate of the University of Maryland, Bernhardt had a storied collegiate career that included being a two-time national runner-up and team captain with the Terrapins. 

Drafted 12th overall in the 2012 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) draft, Bernhardt began his professional playing career in 2013 with the Ohio Machine, where he guided the Machine to the MLL championship in 2017 en route to earning MLL All Star recognition. He played the 2018 season with the New York Lizards before joining the Maryland Whipsnakes of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL), his current team for the summer professional season. As a Whipsnake, Bernhardt has served as captain for five seasons, twice earning PLL All Star recognition, guiding his team to two PLL crowns.