- Boo Rehrer helped Utah Valley's lacrosse team achieve a 15-1 record.
- The Wolverines, ranked No. 2, aim for their first MCLA national title.
- Rehrer, with 76 points, leads a team with strong senior and freshman players.
OREM — Jackson "Boo" Rehrer has played lacrosse since the fifth grade, but for one reason or another, he never caught an opportunity to play at the NCAA Division I level.
The 5-foot-8 attack was ready to enroll at Utah Valley University and move from his hometown of Kamsas, Washington, to focus on his education. But a suggestion from his father Brandon changed everything about his college experience.
"My dad convinced me, showed me there's this lacrosse team that plays club," he said. "I checked it out, and I was like, let's go for it. Four years later, here we are.
"Best decision of my life," he later added.
"Here" refers to the Wolverines' men's lacrosse team, which ranked No. 1 in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association for much of his senior year. Utah Valley went unbeaten in the regular season, a perfect 14-0 that stretched to 15-0 before an 11-10 loss to No. 2 BYU in Saturday's championship game of the 2026 Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference tournament.
Despite the loss, the Wolverines (15-1) are still rated among the favorites to win their first MCLA national tournament, which runs May 4-9 at River City Sportsplex near Richmond, Virginia. Perhaps now — with the motivation that can only come from being upset by their crosstown rivals that followed a 17-11 win over the Cougars in the regular season — more than ever.
Utah Valley will take the No. 2 seed into next week's tournament, opening against No. 15 Oregon (11-3). That puts the Wolverines on the opposite side of the bracket from No. 1 BYU, which opens against 16th-seeded Michigan State (9-4) — and a potential shot at a rubber match between the two schools in the MCLA national final.
They've got to get there first. And Rehrer can help Utah Valley do it.
Rehrer — who has been called "Boo" since childhood and rekindled the nickname his freshman season because there was "another Jackson on the team" — has been as much a part of the team's success as anybody.
The senior scored 43 goals with 33 assists for a team-high 76 points that ranked sixth nationally in that undefeated regular season. Rehrer has been half of a dynamic duo up top with fellow senior Blake Yates, who scored a team-best 49 goals with 22 assists for 71 points.
All thanks to a conversation with his dad, an oral surgeon who sparked a desire in Rehrer both to play lacrosse and graduate this spring with a degree in biology before he applies to dental school.
"He's my hero," Rehrer said of his father. "I look up to him a lot; he's a hard working guy who taught me to be humble but also confident, and always put others before myself."
While the seniors have led, the foundation of the team has been a group of underclassmen tasked with building on back-to-back runs in the national tournament. If there was ever a time to win a title, it was then.
But something happened with the roster of 27 freshmen and transfers including a couple of former Division I players, head coach Colin Maxfield said. With seniors like Rehrer, Yates and Camden Rossi providing key leadership, the young players started to get better, picking up early season wins like 18-7 over then-No. 15 Texas and a 14-9 victory over then-No. 6 UC Santa Barbara.
RMLC Championship
BYU lacrosse hands No. 1 Utah Valley 1st loss to clinch 13th conference title
Murphy’s goal with 58 seconds left helped BYU men’s lacrosse avenge its only loss of the season, handing No. 1-ranked and previously undefeated Utah Valley an 11-10 loss in the championship game of the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference tournament."Our focus has been on the task at hand, which has been the 60 minutes in the next game that we play," Maxfield said. "And the confidence builds behind the scenes, and through providing evidence on the field."
They rolled through conference play, a perfect 5-0 record highlighted by a 17-11 win over then-No. 1 BYU. That inherited the top spot in the MCLA coaches' poll, and a top ranking at next week's national tournament.
All with a 27 newcomers and a senior group that Maxfield pulled aside after the first practice with a simple message: "It's your turn to step up."
"It was a load we weren't used to, but as a group I think we've done a good job and we're really proud of the freshmen and the transfers," Rehrer said. "We've united to get this culture back to how we've known, and I think they're going to be great in the years to come. But hopefully we can end on a bang for our senior year."
It's led the Wolverines back to the national championships, where history may be waiting.
"We feel good about our opportunity," Maxfield said. "But our goal is the same tomorrow as it was the first game of the season: play 60 minutes, and score more goals than the other team."
