Travels, Setbacks Have Fueled Record-Setting Season for Reagan O’Brien

Reagan O’Brien inherited her innate competitive spirit from her mother — at least according to Reagan and her sister, Quinlan, who is a year older and also plays for Johns Hopkins. It’s been on display in 2025, and O’Brien has become the best takeaway defender in Division I.

Her 85 caused turnovers broke the single-season mark of 83 set by Manhattan College’s Moira Muthig in 2000, a record that stood for a quarter-century.

But it was on full display on family game nights in their Charlestown, Mass., home.

“We were trying to take each other out in Mario Kart,” Quinlan said with a laugh. She continued to chuckle when she brought up a Christmas Day memory that’s funny now.

“My parents took Reagan and me down to our local field, and we did one-on-one ground balls for hours — literally hours,” Quinlan said. “I was getting so frustrated, and I gave her a bloody nose by accident.”

Temperatures of 105 degrees and a gut-check from their mother that they didn’t have to attend camp in it also wasn’t enough to slow Reagan down.

“We were in about the third and fourth grade, and my mom was like, ‘We can go up. It’s up to you guys,” Reagan said. “We were like, ‘No. We love it.”

Many of those camps were run by Kelly Amonte Hiller, the legendary Northwestern coach who often recruited in the Massachusetts area. That’s where one-time Northwestern assistant Tim McCormack first noticed Reagan, then in about eighth grade, and Quinlan, who was entering high school.

“The staff would pick teams, and after I watched Reagan ... I would always try to get her and her sister, Quinlan, because of how tough they were,” McCormack said.

Eventually, he’d get to coach the O’Briens for more than a few scrimmages when he came to Johns Hopkins from Arizona State ahead of the 2023 season, replacing long-time Blue Jays head coach Janine Tucker, who recruited the sisters.

See, Reagan has several ties to Northwestern. Former Wildcat Meredith Frank served as her coach for Mass Elite, and Taylor Thornton signed her first lacrosse stick — she idolized both growing up. Her grandfather, George, played football and baseball at Northwestern. But she and Quinlan both ended up at Big Ten foe Johns Hopkins. Technically, their decisions were separate. Subconsciously? Maybe not.

“I don't really know how to operate without her,”  Quinlan said. “She’s my best friend. We shared a room until college. We wanted to make the right decisions for ourselves, but I lucked out with her choosing Johns Hopkins.”

“When I was originally making my decision, I wanted to remove my sister from the equation, because if she transferred or I got hurt, would I still like this school? Did I just pick it to follow my sister?” Reagan said. “But looking back, I think I did subconsciously make the decision to be with my sister. She’s my best friend, and I can’t imagine my college experience in any other way.”

Having her older sister on campus when she arrived as a freshman offered a built-in best friend who already knew the lay of the land. However, Reagan quickly learned that her competitive nature had a pitbull when she sustained a quad injury in her first season.

“I pulled my right quad, and when it started to heal, I fully pulled my left quad later in the season,” Reagan said. “It was my first injury in college, and I rushed my rehab because I was excited to get back out there. I had to learn to deal with that mentally, wanting to give 100 percent but not being able to. It gave me a different perspective — I am not as good if I am not 100 percent healthwise. It taught me that it’s going to be OK. It’s a support, and it’s about the people I surround myself with and how I can cheer my teammates on. It helped make me into the lacrosse player and the person I am today.”

Reagan also had to learn from another setback — getting cut from the U.S. Women’s U20 National Team. McCormack, an assistant on the team helmed by Amonte Hiller, delivered the news.

“I told her, ‘[The coaching staff] talked thoroughly about each and every individual, and you were certainly on a table, but don't let this define you. Let’s learn from it. Let's get better,’” McCormack said.

She listened, drawing on another Northwestern tie.

“I knew Izzy Scane got cut and made the team,” Reagan said.

And Scane went on to become a gold medalist and two-time Tewaaraton Award winner. So, Reagan dug in, causing 38 turnovers, scooping 35 ground balls as a sophomore at Hopkins and impressed her coach.

“When we were getting ready to make secondary calls, her name came up immediately,” McCormack said. “Kelly had seen her play, and she watched how physical she was and how hard she was to play against. Reagan controlled what she could. She fit the style we played — aggressive, in your face, and she rallied the troops. She was someone who put a smile on every individual’s face.”

For O’Brien, it offered a way to boost her lacrosse IQ and perspective on what the sport is and can be — perhaps should be for the hyper-competitive player who holds herself to the highest standards.

“Seeing Emma LoPinto take a certain shot and Kaitlyn Davies run a certain way taught me that I could do these things, too, and to just try,” she said. “It gave me a fresh feeling and love for lacrosse, just meeting these players and playing with them on a different stage was so much fun. It took the pressure off and allowed us to enjoy the sport.”

Hong Kong, China, wasn’t the only international experience that shifted her mindset and showed her the joy people had for the sport. She also participated in a study abroad program in Bologna, Italy, which she committed to with a friend before U20 became possible. While in Italy, she and her friend received an Instagram DM from the Bologna Sharks, a local lacrosse team, asking if they’d come to a practice. They jumped at the offer.

“They wanted to know everything about us, Hopkins, the U.S. team — everything,” Reagan said. “They were excited to catch and throw on this turf in the middle of nowhere. They welcomed us, and I just realized they love this sport, too, and are happy to go out and play and have the opportunity to play. It was people of all ages from 18-50. We keep in contact to this day. It made me love the game even more, to just see their perspective and how much fun they had.”

The personal growth might have helped O’Brien view lacrosse as a game and way to have fun versus the be-all, end-all, but, perhaps ironically, it helped her become a better player.

“There’s a confidence piece,” McCormack said. “A lot of it came from being recognized and put in a position to represent her country and then to go out and do it at a high level, forge relationships, and get a sense of, ‘Wow. Not only am I here, but I belong.’ The confidence has fueled a lot of this year’s success, for sure.”

Her role on the field has also grown recently. While her caused turnovers have made her a feared foe of attackers — she caused 17 turnovers in two games in the Big Ten championship tournament — McCormack has also tapped her to help on the circle for the last three contests.

“We felt that having someone of her caliber on there, if we did lose the draw, was a good safety net,” McCormack said. “If opponents were getting the ball, having her in their face was a good thing. Then she went out there, listened to the draw unit and put herself in great spots.”

O’Brien, too, is in a good spot as the Blue Jays enter the NCAA tournament as the No. 8 national seed. And while she might still be in-your-face on the field, it’s a gentler approach in her head that has her playing the best lacrosse of her career at the right time.

“I'm not doing it for myself anymore,” she said. “I would like to think that I've been given this ability to shine on the lacrosse field thanks to my teammates and my coaching staff, and I just want to show that every day at practice. The scout team is training me to be better every day in practice. I’m just grateful to show how hard we’ve all been working and that it’s about all of us.”