AUSTIN, Texas — When St. Edward's University revived its men's soccer program in 2023 after a three-year hiatus, head coach Brian Young needed more than talented players to rebuild the team from scratch.

He needed leaders capable of building a culture from the ground up.

The inaugural roster featured 28 freshmen and only nine upperclassmen, placing the responsibility of establishing the program's culture squarely on the veterans.

"When we were building out the team, we needed the right blend of talent and leadership from the older players we were recruiting to establish the culture," Young recalls. "And Jommar Reyes embodied everything there is about being a Hilltopper before he ever was a Hilltopper."

Young had followed Reyes long before he arrived on the Hilltop, first watching him develop with Lone Star Soccer Club. When St. Edward's discontinued men's soccer in the spring of 2020, Reyes began his collegiate career at nearby Huston-Tillotson University.

Two years later, when St. Edward's announced the return of men's soccer, Reyes transferred to pursue his master's degree and become one of the first players tasked with rebuilding the program.
On the field, Young's instincts proved right.

Reyes started 13 of 15 matches during the program's first season back, earning All-Lone Star Conference Third Team honors in 2023. A year later, he helped lead the Hilltoppers to one of the biggest turnarounds in the conference and the program's first Lone Star Conference Tournament appearance, earning LSC All-Tournament Team recognition.

But while Hilltopper fans watched Reyes make an impact at Lewis-Chen Family Field, another project was quietly shaping his legacy.

Long before he made his home on the Hilltop, Reyes understood what it meant to play without one.
As a student-athlete at Huston-Tillotson, Reyes practiced on worn-down fields riddled with potholes and traveled nearly an hour to Round Rock for every home match.

"Everyone knew not having a quality field to train or a single location to play home games was a concern," Reyes says.

The frustration lingered until a conversation in political science class with Dr. Robert Ceresa challenged him to turn frustration into action.

"Dr. Ceresa was big on taking action to address issues that angered us," Reyes says. "He asked if I was okay with not having a home field, then challenged me to do something about it."

That challenge led Reyes to Central Texas Interfaith, where he eventually interned and discovered Huston-Tillotson's situation was only one piece of a much larger issue.

Just two miles from campus, East Austin Soccer Club had spent more than two decades playing at Tillery Fields, a city-owned property that lacked irrigation, shade, restrooms and many of the basic amenities youth players and families deserved.

"There weren't really any green spaces in East Austin except Tillery Field, where East Austin Soccer Club has trained for over two decades," Reyes says. "Huston-Tillotson needed a home field, East Austin Soccer Club needed a place to train, and the community needed a park with shade, water, restrooms and other necessities."

Working alongside Central Texas Interfaith, Reyes helped organize listening sessions with residents and city leaders, advocating for irrigation, lighting, fencing, shade and restroom facilities that would transform the space into a permanent community asset.

The work stretched across several years and was still in its early stages when St. Edward's called.

Reyes arrived on the Hilltop already committed to serving something larger than himself. At St. Edward's, he found a university whose Holy Cross mission challenged students to use their education in service of others, recognize the dignity of every person and remove barriers that prevent communities from flourishing. Those weren't simply values written in a mission statement—they were principles Reyes was already living.

"My first preseason at St. Edward's, we'd have exhausting morning workouts, then I'd have to change and quickly jump on a call with city council members, then go back to training," Reyes says. "Working on this project during my graduate years at St. Edward's was memorable, challenging and worthwhile to see East Austin get approved for something they've deserved for a long time."

This summer, after years of organizing, advocacy and partnership, the City of Austin approved the Tillery East Austin Soccer Park project.

For Reyes, the vote represented far more than a new soccer complex.

"My journey continued at St. Edward's University, where I earned my master's degree and played soccer in a strong home-field environment," Reyes said during the East Austin Soccer Park announcement. "That experience reinforced the mission that began at Huston-Tillotson: every student-athlete and every community deserve a place where they feel supported and belong."

Standing before community members, Reyes reflected on what the project had always represented.

"A soccer field was never just a field," he said. "It is where a child falls in love with the game, where families come together and where a community finds a place to belong."

"The families who use Tillery were never asking for luxury," Reyes continued. "They were asking for dignity. Safe grass, proper irrigation, secure fencing and a place where their children could play without having to worry about limited resources or unsafe conditions."

Looking back, Reyes admits he once expected change to happen much faster.

"As an ambitious student, I expected it to move faster," he says. "But throughout the journey, I had to learn these things take time. When I think about how long they've played more than 20 years in those conditions, to get the green light finally, it brings me joy to know the community will get to enjoy the fruit of our efforts over the past few years."

Today, Reyes works for a law firm and plans to attend law school in the fall of 2027.

For Young, Reyes' legacy was never measured solely by minutes played or all-conference honors.

"He was a mainstay of our rebuild. He's someone who's a leader and a great connector of people who helped solidify the program in its first two years," Young says. "He's someone who led by example through his commitment on and off the field, and he has a big heart."

Long before he became an all-conference midfielder, Reyes had already demonstrated what it meant to be a Hilltopper—using his talents not only to strengthen a soccer program, but to leave his community better than he found it.