Reagan O’Brien completed her Johns Hopkins career as the NCAA Division I leader in caused turnovers. The defender finished with 254, surpassing the previous career mark after establishing the single-season record with 103 in 2025.
Her development involved more than accumulating defensive statistics. O’Brien arrived at Johns Hopkins with extensive midfield experience, adapted to a new position, recovered from early injuries, and responded to an initial U.S. U20 rejection by earning another opportunity. She eventually became a U20 gold medallist, a two-time Big Ten Defender of the Year and the fifth overall selection in the inaugural Women’s Lacrosse League College Draft.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Hometown | Charlestown, Massachusetts |
| High school | Boston Latin, Class of 2022 |
| College | Johns Hopkins |
| Position | Defense; previously played midfield |
| NCAA career record | 254 caused turnovers |
| NCAA single-season record | 103 caused turnovers |
| International achievement | U.S. Women’s U20 gold medallist |
| WLL selection | Fifth overall by New York Charging in the inaugural WLL College Draft |
Boston Latin and Mass Elite Built Her Two-Way Foundation
O’Brien developed as a two-way player, not a defensive specialist. She spent eight years with Mass Elite and played three documented seasons at Boston Latin, where she accumulated 363 goals, 119 assists, 304 ground balls, 329 caused turnovers, and 400 draw controls.
That production brought recognition on both sides of the field. She became a two-time US Lacrosse All-American and received three Dual County League All-Star selections. Boston Latin named her its Female Athlete of the Year during her senior year, when she also received the league’s most valuable player award.
Her athletic experience extended to soccer. She recorded 45 goals and 14 assists for Boston Latin, served twice as a captain, and earned two team co-MVP honors. Those years gave her experience in attacking, defensive, draw-control and transition situations before she moved into a college defensive role.
Her Move to Defense Began at Johns Hopkins
O’Brien joined Johns Hopkins for the 2023 season and initially appeared as a midfielder. During freshman fall training, however, she began learning the team’s defensive system from assistant coach Dorrien Van Dyke.
She later told USA Lacrosse that learning the Hopkins zone helped her realize she enjoyed defense more than offense. Instead of treating the change as a temporary assignment, she wanted to improve the positioning, anticipation and technical skills required by the role.
Her impact was apparent during her first college season. O’Brien appeared in 16 games, started 10 and finished with 25 caused turnovers, 23 ground balls and two assists. Her caused-turnover total was the fifth highest by a freshman in Johns Hopkins history.
The year also brought her first significant college injuries. O’Brien said she strained one quadriceps and later fully injured the other. She acknowledged rushing the first rehabilitation because she wanted to return quickly. The experience taught her to accept the limits of playing below full health and to contribute by supporting teammates when she could not perform at her usual level.
She returned for a larger role in 2024, starting 19 of 20 games. Her season totals increased to 38 caused turnovers and 35 ground balls, placing her fourth in the Big Ten in caused turnovers per game.
A U.S. U20 Setback Led to an International Breakthrough
O’Brien was not included in the initial U.S. Women’s U20 training group. She described the decision as painful, but Johns Hopkins coach Tim McCormack encouraged her to use it to improve rather than let it define her progress.
Her preparation included repeated sessions on local fields and time on an assault bike. After a stronger sophomore season, she received an invitation to compete for one of 22 spots on the final U.S. roster.
The opportunity created an unusual travel schedule. O’Brien was studying in Bologna, Italy, when she flew back to the United States for a three-day training camp. She then returned to Italy and waited for the selection decision.
While abroad, she and Johns Hopkins teammate Emily Peek practiced with the Bologna Sharks. O’Brien said seeing players of different ages enjoying the sport renewed her own enthusiasm. The experience complemented what she learned from training alongside leading U.S. players and helped her approach lacrosse with greater confidence and less pressure.
The final U.S. roster was announced in July 2024, with O’Brien selected as a defender. She competed at the World Lacrosse Women’s U20 Championship in Hong Kong, China, and returned as a gold medallist. Although one Johns Hopkins biographical entry later called it a U19 championship, the competition was officially designated U20.
The 2025 Season Produced an NCAA Record
O’Brien’s junior season turned her steady defensive progress into a national-record season. She started all 20 games and caused 103 turnovers, surpassing the previous NCAA single-season mark.
Her year included several notable individual performances. She tied the Johns Hopkins single-game record with seven caused turnovers on multiple occasions before registering 10 against Penn State in the Big Ten quarterfinal. In the NCAA tournament opener against Liberty, she produced 12 caused turnovers and 10 ground balls.
Defense remained her primary responsibility, but her full season also included one goal, five assists and 17 draw controls. She collected a team-leading 65 ground balls, the fourth-highest Division I single-season total in the program’s history.
O’Brien’s 2025 performance earned first-team All-Big Ten, first-team IWLCA All-America and first-team USA Lacrosse All-America recognition. The Big Ten also selected her as its Defender of the Year.
The international experience remained an important part of her development. O’Brien said playing with the U20 team expanded her understanding of what other leading players could do and encouraged her to attempt new techniques. The confidence gained from earning her place after initially being cut carried into her record-setting college season.
O’Brien Finished With 254 Career Caused Turnovers
The 2026 season allowed O’Brien to pursue the NCAA career record while Johns Hopkins sought a deeper postseason run. She again started 20 games, producing 88 caused turnovers, 72 ground balls, 16 draw controls and one assist.
She moved into second place on the NCAA career list after causing seven turnovers in an overtime victory at Penn State. On April 22, 2026, she broke the career record during a Big Ten quarterfinal win over Rutgers.
Her total continued growing through the NCAA tournament. By the end of the season, O’Brien had reached 254 career caused turnovers. Her 88 as a senior led Division I and became the second-highest single-season total in NCAA history, behind her own 2025 record.
The final campaign brought another round of major honors. O’Brien became Big Ten Defender of the Year for the second consecutive season and was a unanimous first-team all-conference selection. She also earned first-team IWLCA All-America recognition for the second time.
On May 26, the IWLCA named her the 2026 Division I Defender of the Year. She was also one of five finalists for the Tewaaraton Award, becoming the first defender to reach that stage since 2021. Her finalist status was significant recognition, although she did not win the award.
Late Defensive Plays Helped Hopkins Reach the Semifinal
Johns Hopkins entered the 2026 NCAA tournament after an overtime loss to Maryland in the Big Ten semifinals. The Blue Jays defeated UAlbany and Army to advance to a home quarterfinal against Stony Brook.
O’Brien made one of her most consequential contributions during that quarterfinal. She finished with five caused turnovers, four ground balls and two draw controls. Two of those takeaways came during the final 90 seconds as Hopkins completed its comeback and secured a 13–12 victory.
The result sent Johns Hopkins to its first NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse semifinal. The distinction matters because the program previously reached a semifinal in 1997 while competing in Division III.
O’Brien recorded another five caused turnovers in the national semifinal on May 22. Northwestern won 16–11, ending the Blue Jays’ season and O’Brien’s four-year college career.
Reflecting on her senior year shortly before that game, she described the experience as surreal. She credited the people and programs in Charlestown, at Boston Latin, in club lacrosse and at Johns Hopkins with shaping her development.
New York Selected Her in the Inaugural WLL Draft
Before her college career ended, O’Brien entered the next stage of the sport. New York Charging selected her fifth overall on April 15, 2026, during the inaugural Women’s Lacrosse League College Draft.
The selection represented a professional opportunity she hadn’t expected when she was younger. O’Brien recalled attending clinics connected with the Long Island Sound of the earlier United Women’s Lacrosse League. Although she watched those players, she did not then imagine that a professional option would become available to her.
In late May, USA Lacrosse reported that she hoped to join New York after allowing injuries from her senior season to heal. The draft selection is confirmed, but that update did not establish a completed professional debut or appearance total.
Her Public Work Extended Beyond College Competition
O’Brien’s Johns Hopkins profile lists political science as her major, accompanied by minors in financial management and entrepreneurship and management. She received Academic All-Big Ten recognition in 2024, 2025 and 2026. Her senior academic honors also included third-team CSC Academic All-America recognition.
She used lacrosse in support of brain-cancer research through A Shot For Life. O’Brien said the cause was personally meaningful because her grandfather, George Stump, died from glioblastoma.
Her participation included youth clinics and charity games. She also worked with her grandmother, Elizabeth Stump, to develop a fundraising plan and collect memorabilia from George’s years playing football and baseball at Northwestern. USA Lacrosse connected her involvement with a wider effort that raised more than $100,000, a collective total rather than an amount attributable solely to O’Brien.
Her Defensive Development Defined a Record-Setting Career
O’Brien’s college progression began with a position change and ended with the NCAA Division I career caused-turnover record. Between those points, she managed early injuries, recovered from a U.S. team rejection, won U20 gold and produced the two highest single-season caused-turnover totals documented in NCAA history.
Her final Johns Hopkins season combined individual recognition with the program’s first Division I semifinal appearance. The IWLCA Defender of the Year award and New York Charging’s fifth overall draft selection followed a four-year record that established defense as the central feature of her public sporting profile.