Chaparral junior defenseman Jake Bolwar has committed to play NCAA Division I lacrosse at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Bolwar said he also considered North Carolina, Fairfield, Delaware and Villanova before he settled on the Baltimore-based school.

“I just really wanted to play for Coach (Don) Zimmerman,” Bolwar said. “They play a tough schedule every year. Baltimore is one of the hotbeds, and I think it will be cool to play in one of the hotbeds against all those top-recruited kids.”

Bolwar is currently the No. 10 ranked junior on WSL’s Elite 25 individual player ranking list. He is the second player on Chaparral’s roster who will play college lacrosse for the Retrievers. Chaparral senior defenseman Ian Gray is also heading to UMBC.

“Ian Gray and I are best friends, so that was a deciding factor,” Bolwar said.

Bolwar is strong for his size (5-foot-9, 160 pounds), but he said he will need to get bigger and work on his knowledge of the game to be successful at the next level.

“I just feel like I need to increase my lacrosse IQ,” Bolwar said. “Obviously, I need to get into the weight room and get a little bigger, faster, stronger to play at the college level.”