Maryland field hockey is one big family — literally. The team features three pairs of sisters and a cousin for good measure.
About seven of the Terps’ players are related to someone on the team. From AJ and Brinkley Eyre, Maya and Faith Everett, to Josie and Jordyn Hollamon, no team is as uniquely close-knit.
But Missy Meharg said this wasn’t on purpose. She was doing her usual recruiting when the coach discovered several top recruits were related to current players.
“People have asked me this so many times, and I didn’t really even realize there were three of them,” Meharg said. “I never put into play what it would be like.”
Now in her 38th year as Maryland’s coach, Meharg has pretty much seen it all. But the family dynamic across her 2025 team is different.
“I’ve only had one other set of siblings and it was Emma and Brooke DeBerdine,” Meharg said. “So far what I’ve seen is it’s great. They seem to really encourage each other.”
It’s difficult for one sibling to reach the Division I field hockey level, let alone two. For the Hollamon sisters, playing at a top-tier program together was hard to pass up.
“It’s something we’ve probably been waiting for our whole lives,” Josie Hollamon said.
Despite a two-year age gap, the ability to reconnect with her sister at Maryland is exciting for Josie Hollamon.
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AJ Eyre said her and her sister, Brinkley, know each others’ play styles better than any teammates or opponents. The natural connections from growing up together built a “telepathic relationship on the field,” AJ Eyre said.
While many siblings pick fights or fail to get along with each other, field hockey brought these sisters together — influencing them enough to choose the same college.
“AJ is my home away from home. I want to be with her,” Alison Eyre, AJ and Brinkley’s mother, recalled her younger daughter saying when she committed to the Terps.
Faith and Maya Everett said they use each other’s constant presence to push each other to new limits.
By sharing years of experience across different positions, the Everett sisters feel having a built-in best friend makes learning new skills easier.
Some players said they feel a certain joy when they see their sibling make a crucial play. Many said they often find themselves more excited for each other than themselves.
Parents Brian and Jodi Hollamon’s relationship with their daughters has stretched beyond their home. Jodi has coached them for as long as they could hold a stick — from club teams to high school play — and is now seeing their growth from a new perspective.
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“It’s exciting because I have been their coach for a very, very long time,” Jodi said. “Instead of fighting and getting mad at each other, now getting more excited and you can see how proud they are of each other. It’s awesome to watch. I couldn’t be more proud as a parent.”
Glenelg High School coach Martie Dyer said her connection with AJ and Brinkley Eyre brought her out of retirement from coaching. The team reached a state championship with Dyer as coach, scoring all four goals in the decisive matchup.
“Since it was AJ and Brinkley playing for them, it was a no-brainer for me, because they’re like family to me,” Dyer said. “We called it the Eyre show.”
Beyond sisters and cousins on Maryland’s roster, the bond between teammates spending time together trying to achieve a common goal makes everybody feel like family.
“Overall, even though there’s three sisters there, the whole team is very close,” Faith Everett said. “You’d think the whole team ended up being sisters somehow.”
