From Air Force to UVA: Jake Marek’s Rise to Virginia’s Starting Goalie

Marek has turned into a critical part of UVA's success and has seen a remarkable rise

Virginia Athletics

Long before the sun rises on Monday mornings, Jake Marek is awake, his day starting at 4:45 a.m. Instead of heading to the gym or the practice field, he trades his gym shorts for medical scrubs as his week begins with a 10-12-hour shift at the UVA Hospital. After that, Marek turns his attention to an accelerated master's nursing program and his duties as the starting goalie for the Virginia men’s lacrosse team.

Yet, while staring down the barrel of clinical worksheets, readings, tests, practices, and game film, Marek has thrived in Charlottesville. He is pursuing a master’s degree in nursing en route to becoming a special operations Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist while helping the Cavaliers toward a potential NCAA Tournament berth.

In net, Marek produced a 58.6 save percentage during Virginia’s season-changing four-game win streak, which included victories over then No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 7 Duke. Despite his success, his path to starting goalie was anything but straightforward.

Prior to Virginia, the Plantation, Florida native attended his dream school, the Air Force Academy. Marek received the final spot on the roster after a goalie decommitted from the program. Despite being on the roster, Marek faced an uphill battle in his first two seasons, as he saw no playing time - all the while struggling academically at the hands of Air Force’s rigorous 20-credit semesters in addition to basic training.

Despite feeling he was a capable starter in his junior year, Marek did not receive the call-up in his first few games, leading him to consider focusing fully on academics.

“My GPA wasn’t the most competitive for getting into nursing school. I was just like, Man, I’m wasting all this time on lacrosse, and I’m not really getting anything out of it,’” said Marek.

As he watched from the sidelines, the coaching staff rotated two other goalies; Marek felt the door had shut on his chances of seeing the field. As the season continued, Marek's desire to quit only anchored itself until he received unexpected news.

“One week, the captains came up to me, and they’re like, don’t quit. We have been vouching for you the entire year for you to be the starter. You are the best goalie, give it one more week,” said Marek.

The following week, Marek’s patience paid off as he earned the start against Bellarmine and posted a seven-save performance in the Falcons’ 11–7 win. From there, he remained the starter for the rest of his Air Force career, helping the Falcons claim an ASUN tournament title and earn their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2017. Marek was named MVP of the ASUN Tournament.

Jake Marek and teammates celebrate Air Force’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017. | Air Force Athletics

“You should never give up. And if you do have those thoughts of giving up, go talk to your leadership, go talk to your captains, go talk to whoever you trust and have them talk you out of it because you never know… Don’t ever quit if it’s your dream,” said Marek.

Off the field, Marek upped his GPA to become one of two Air Force graduates to receive funding for nursing school, leading him to the University of Virginia. After a meeting at Bodo’s Bagels with Coach Lars Tiffany, Marek was offered a walk-on spot in the fall.

“Coming in, I was really nervous because I’ve never gone up against this competition, no one knows who I am, and then they were the most welcoming people I think I’ve ever met in my life,” said Marek.

Once integrated, Marek quickly climbed the depth chart. He utilized his two years of starting experience, along with his unique style: playing a high crease and embracing a fearless mentality to come out of the cage.

That's six saves for Jake Marek in the first quarter‼️#GoHoos🔸⚔️🔹 pic.twitter.com/1WGFHI3KMY

— Virginia Men's Lacrosse (@UVAMensLax) March 23, 2026

Despite starting the season as the starter, Marek struggled early on as the Hoos started the season 3-4, prompting Tiffany to rotate between Marek and Kyle Morris. Ultimately, Marek secured the starting spot, solidifying the position with a 14-save game against Utah.

After Utah, Marek helped lead the Cavaliers to defeat Dartmouth, then upset No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 7 Duke, making crucial saves in each game that helped change the course of the Hoos' season.

“He’s proven he can embrace the challenge of the highest level of lacrosse,” said Lars Tiffany.

WHAT A STOP‼️

Marek's 13th save of the game 😤#GoHoos🔸⚔️🔹 pic.twitter.com/eFRAXLzwcf

— Virginia Men's Lacrosse (@UVAMensLax) April 4, 2026

While doing all of this, he has also balanced his accelerated Master’s program, which includes one 10-12 hour shift at the UVA hospital each Monday in addition to a full course load. Marek’s advisor recommended he stay clear of lacrosse, but utilizing routines he discovered at Air Force, he’s found a healthy balance.

“At the Academy, I learned that I always need to be two weeks ahead of all my classes, so if I need to focus on studying for an exam or focusing on a lacrosse game, I could do that because I didn't have any homework for that week,” said Marek.

Despite his rigorous schedule, he’s also prioritized spending time with his teammates, whom he now calls some of his best friends, reserving Saturday nights after games to hang out with his teammates and to get away from his studies.

Now thriving at Virginia, Marek credits his past lessons at the Air Force Academy as the story of his success.

“The biggest thing I learned from the Academy is that it’s okay to fail. You will fail in your life, but it's how you get up from it,” said Marek.

Regardless of Marek’s current success, he has his sights set on continuing to thrive in the cage for the Cavaliers while continuing to pursue his goal of serving the United States Military as a special operations medic.

After a tough loss to Syracuse this past weekend, Marek and the Cavaliers will look to strengthen their NCAA Tournament positioning against No. 3 North Carolina at Klöckner Stadium on Saturday at noon.