In the world of college athletics, where the best players' dreams often meet harsh realities at the next level of competition, Jess Leon carved her own unique and out-of-the ordinary path through athletics at Bucknell. After joining the Bison as a Division I field hockey player for two seasons, Leon woke up from a dream knowing she wanted to play lacrosse. With no guarantees, no shortcuts and no scholarship, she started from ground zero on a journey fueled by her determination and love for the game. The student-athlete earned every piece of equipment, every minute of practice and every second on the field through sacrifice, hard work and a strong mentality of positivity. Jess Leon not only switched sports halfway through her career at a collegiate level and found all-league success, but she defied the odds of chasing a seemingly impossible dream and succeeding. The Westport, Conn. native was surrounded by sports early on in her life thanks to her parents and two older brothers who made it a constant in the house.
“From a very young age I got into sports because my brothers were into sports, basically the whole family was, so that was always a big part of my childhood since everyone played,” said Leon. “My mom was an all-state field hockey player, my aunt played hockey at Princeton and both of my brothers played sports too, so I was definitely part of a sports family which was kind of how it all started for me.”
In high school at Staples, Leon played field hockey and lacrosse both at varsity and club levels. She was an all-state player in both sports, led the field hockey team to two state championships and set the school record for points in a season with 41 on 22 goals and 19 assists.
“Playing club for both sports was a huge commitment on top of high school sports being so competitive and my classes. I was constantly traveling every weekend with my parents taking me anywhere I needed to be to play.”
The hard work and time commitment of playing both sports all-year round started to pay off when Leon began to get recruited for college. The youngest of three, she was the first child in her family to play sports at a collegiate level, so there was a newness and wow-factor when the whirlwind of calls began.
“Field hockey recruiting started before lacrosse did and having my mom and my aunt’s athletic backgrounds with field hockey and hockey, I was just drawn to field hockey before lacrosse at that time,” said Leon. “I was recruited for lacrosse too, but I think because field hockey was earlier, I was hyperfixated on getting those first recruiting calls and I ended up leaning towards that sport.”
When looking at the different colleges, Leon fell in love with Bucknell. She felt connected to both the area and the field hockey coach that recruited her, so she decided to make Lewisburg her collegiate home.
“Jeremy Cook was the field hockey coach that was here when I got recruited and he was great, I really loved him,” said Leon. “My high school field hockey coach at the time told me all about him and I had heard great things about the entire program which was what first drew me to Bucknell. When I came to campus, I really liked the small town community because that was kind of what my town was growing up, which made me feel drawn here even more.”
While Leon started to get the recruiting calls for lacrosse later on, she felt like she was already set and had everything lined up to play field hockey collegiately, so she didn’t have lacrosse immediately on her mind until the summer before her freshman year started.
“Right before my freshman year at Bucknell, my club coach and my high school coach got word that Coach Dando wanted to see me since I played lacrosse at a high level in high school too so I ended up going to a Bucknell lacrosse clinic over the summer, even though I felt like I had no reason to be there,” said Leon. “I think Coach Dando liked me, but nothing really came from it. I was just like, ‘okay, that was fun, but I'm playing field hockey here and that's all’.”
Not long after that, Leon began her Bucknell field hockey journey where she appeared in a handful of games for the Orange and Blue. After her second field hockey competition season ended, the then sophomore had an epiphany.
“I was going to bed one night in the spring of my sophomore year and I couldn't really fall asleep, but I had an early morning field hockey practice the next day,” said Leon. “I remember when I woke up that morning for practice, I had this weird feeling. I don't know if I had a dream about lacrosse, but it was this weird moment that I was like, ‘I need to try out for lacrosse’. I don't know why, but something in my heart was telling me that I needed to do it.”
So after field hockey practice she got her mom and her dad, who was at work, connected on a call with her to tell them the news of her decision.
“It was the craziest call I've ever had,” said Leon. “I was just like, ‘guys, I'm going to try out for lacrosse’, on just some random Tuesday. They seemed very confused, but they didn't say no, they just said okay because they have always been supportive of everything I do. I basically told them I’d let them know what happened, but I was definitely doing this.”
After the conference call with her parents, Leon reached out to Coach Dando and asked for a meeting. Keep in mind, this meeting request came in right after the women’s lacrosse team had just played its first game.
“She probably had no idea what I wanted from her since I only really met her at that camp I did,” said Leon. “I just showed up and told her I wanted to try out for the team. She must have asked me a million times if I was sure, but I knew I was.”
With Leon playing field hockey at Bucknell and not lacrosse, she didn’t have any of her high school lacrosse equipment in Lewisburg. When Coach Dando agreed to let her try out, Leon had to enlist the help of her parents to make it possible.
“I had them overnight FedEx me my lacrosse sticks because I obviously didn’t have them here and Coach probably thought I was crazy, but she said she would let me try.”
What most people think happened was that Leon talked to Coach Dando, got a spot on the team and became a prominent player immediately, but the real story of how she carved her way into the program is actually much different.
“Everyone thinks I just walked onto the team after my meeting with Coach and started playing, but it was a lot more work than that,” said Leon. “There was a two week period where I was waking up at five in the morning, going to field hockey practice for two hours, going to my classes all day and then trying out for lacrosse at their practice from four to six.”
While her schedule was jam-packed and her body was working in overdrive, Leon was tenacious and never gave up on herself.
“I couldn't complain because I signed up for this. My parents and everyone probably thought I was insane, but I never once doubted myself, which I'm really proud of myself for,” said Leon.
And after two of the busiest and most difficult weeks of the student-athlete's life, Coach Dando asked Leon for a meeting as she made her decision.
“I sat in her office and she told me that I could be a practice player, but wanted to make sure that it was really something I wanted to do,” said Leon. “I immediately said yes and I always tell her that that moment was the most motivating thing in my career because she told me that I would have to earn every single thing I get. I’d have to work hard to earn being at practice, my gear, my uniform, going to games, the opportunity to be on the sideline, basically everything. I just smiled. Most people would probably think that that’s a lot of steps to become a player, but I was okay with that.”
Leon’s father was always a proponent of her playing both sports in college from the very beginning, so initially that’s what she was thinking of doing when Coach Dando said she could be a practice player.
“I didn’t want to give up either sport because I'm not a quitter,” said Leon. “Both my field hockey coach at the time and Coach Dando talked on their own and then told me that they really want me to succeed and if I did both, I probably wouldn’t succeed in either. So, with my best interests at heart they wanted me to choose and I had already worked so hard for lacrosse and felt like that’s where I needed to be.”
While choosing to switch sports and join the Bucknell women’s lacrosse team as a practice player, the then sophomore also learned that she would be losing her athletic scholarship if she made the change.
“My field hockey coach, not in a harsh way at all, told me that leaving the team would also mean that I would lose my scholarship, which made complete sense to me,” said Leon. “I remember calling my parents and I felt so sorry because I know how tough that would be to lose, but I was so happy and loved where I was. It just felt right.”
So, Leon began her journey as a practice player, hoping to continuously work hard and earn her spot as a true member of the team.
“I didn't have any gear because I had to earn it, so I would show up to lacrosse practice in my old field hockey gear,” said Leon. “I also didn't have a locker yet either since it was all so new, so I would show up to practice after going to my field hockey locker which was pretty far, so I’d drive myself to the field because my class was a little late. Coach Dando kept telling me that I was really earning it and that I got this, which really helped me get through those times.”
Day after day Leon kept working to earn every part of being on the team and then one day, she was given her uniform and the chance to be on the sideline at games.
“You probably wouldn’t think this, but my favorite memory here so far was the first game that I was on the sideline,” said Leon. “It felt like I finally earned my place on the team. I literally got my uniform that day and I was so excited because it was only like three weeks after I joined the team. It felt like the turning point for me because before that day I would go to bed at night dreaming about how I couldn’t wait to be on the sideline and have a uniform and feel like I’m 100% part of the team. They had a crazy win over Boston U. in that game and I was just so happy to be a part of it. After that day, is when I knew I was going to do whatever I could to make an impact here.”
The journey to being on the sideline during games was one that Leon truly enjoyed as she is somebody who loves the chase, but there were of course moments where it was hard for her to keep going.
“Everyone who knows me, knows that I am a very positive person,” said Leon. "I'm usually the first person to hype everyone up, but I can't lie, there were some days in the beginning of joining the team that I questioned why I was there and I basically put myself in a position of being less than and that was definitely hard.”
While going through those harder times and the whirlwind of emotions, Leon leaned on her family and her “nothing to lose” mentality for the support she needed.
“My parents were so amazing through all of that. I'd call them after every practice and they were so proud of me, it was so sweet,” said Leon. “I also developed the mentality that I had nothing to lose because I probably just did one of the craziest things that these coaches had ever seen and now I'm here. I showed up every day and did everything I could. I think that's how I really got to the position I'm in today, and I just feel so lucky. I earned my spot on the team through hard work and I could be proud of that.”
After her sophomore lacrosse season where Leon worked to earn her spot, came her breakout junior season and it all started in game one at Penn State.
“My parents were going to the game and they had no expectations,” said Leon. “They didn’t want to go into the game thinking that I would play because then they would be sad if I didn’t, but I kept telling them that I really thought I could have a chance to start. My parents tried to tell me not to get my hopes too high and to go into the game thinking that I wouldn’t step on the field at all. I remember when I got into the huddle before the game started, the coaches were reading the lineup and I heard my name. My heart froze because I knew that my parents were getting to that indoor facility not expecting me to get on the field. I was so excited for them to call the starting lineup over the speakers and have my parents hear it for the first time because I felt like it would just make them realize that everything that happened was worth it. It was such a good feeling.”
The “nothing to lose” mentality that Leon leaned on to get through some of the tough times as she worked to get on the field quickly translated to her game-play when her time came.
“I was playing so fearlessly because I literally had nothing to lose,” said Leon. “I was having so much fun and I felt so lucky to be a part of the team. I feel like if you get on the team in the normal way that you're recruited, of course you're happy to be there, but for me, I just did something so out of the ordinary and everything was working out so I needed to continue to work hard, but this time in the games.”
As a defender, Leon enhanced Bucknell’s game tremendously her junior year and really made her mark on the program. The determined athlete started in all 16 games on defense for Bucknell in its 2025 season. She led the Patriot League in several categories including caused turnovers (36) and ground balls (45). The junior also saw multiple NCAA rankings as she ended the season 13th in the NCAA for caused turnovers per game (2.27) and 20th in ground balls per game (2.87). Leon was a Patriot League Defender of the Week and earned All-Patriot League Second Team. In her first season playing with Bison women’s lacrosse, Leon etched her name in the record books as she tied the third place record for caused turnovers in a single season. Switching sports at a collegiate level sounds crazy to begin with, but doing so and then in just a short period of time truly excelling, is something that takes a lot of grit, determination and tenacity; all qualities that Leon displays each and every day.
“I remember when I got defensive player of the week,” said Leon. “That was the first award I got and it was emotional for me. I'm not an emotional person, but I was just wowed because all I wanted was to be on the team, little did I know then what it would lead to today. None of it was luck either, I really put in the work and didn’t take a single day for granted, so I was really proud of myself and so was my family. It really felt like all of the work finally paid off. I didn't need the award to know it, but seeing it made it very clear to me that everything worked out and everything happened for a reason.”
And after her stellar debut season, Leon and Coach Dando had another meeting. This time the meeting wasn’t for a young field hockey player to try to follow her dream despite the sacrifices she would have to make, but it was for the coach to reward that player for everything she had done to get to where she was.
“Ahead of my senior year this year, Coach Dando met with me and she told me that because of my hard work and dedication to the team, I had earned an athletics scholarship for my final year.”
Throughout all steps of Leon’s journey through field hockey, lacrosse and everything that happened in between, she had one constant that helped her through it all; her family.
“My parents are my rock. I don’t think I would have been able to make the switch if they weren’t on my side for it, they have been just amazing,” said Leon. “My parents aren’t too far, but they would travel across the country to watch me play and my mom and dad have truly been the best, I am just so lucky to have them by my side. They were coming to games when I barely had my uniform, which just shows that they’ve always been there supporting me so much. That year when I switched from field hockey to lacrosse, I was technically in season all year round and they were at every single game. My brothers are great too. My oldest brother is at work watching my games and sending me play-by-play advice. He’ll be like ‘at 10:22 in the first you’re sliding too early', which is really funny and he’s just trying to help. Honestly, my whole family has been just amazing and have very much embraced my out of the ordinary college athletics career.”
Her family has also supported her in her professional career. Leon is an economics major at Bucknell, who has had two major internships during her tenure at the university. The senior feels like her competitive family and love of sports translates to her professional life in many ways. The first internship that Leon had was during the summer of 2024 when she served as an intern at RBC Wealth Management.
“I loved it, but then I kind of realized that it was a little bit too much math and not enough people interaction for me career-wise,” said Leon. “I definitely realized through that experience that I wanted a job that was people focused and would be different everyday. I love a fast-paced environment because that is what I am used to and comfortable with since my schedule has always been like that.”
The next internship that Leon worked was this past summer and it was much more in the direction that she wants to go in. The student-athlete was a Digital Media Intern at William Morris Endeavor, which is a talent agency in New York City.
“This internship was when I realized that I wanted to do something in the entertainment and sports realm because it’s been my life up until now and it's a really cool space where I get everything I am looking for; fast-paced and different every day,” said Leon. “It was so cool to work with celebrities and athletes that I watch all the time. I was working more in digital media and one of our projects that our coordinator had us do was to pick a celebrity that was not signed with the agency yet that you think should be and present why. A lot of interns were picking beauty influencers, but I knew I wanted to pick an athlete because of my background. I was on social media and I came across Charlotte North, who is like one of the best lacrosse players, and I immediately thought that she would be a great fit since women’s lacrosse is an up and coming sport.”
Leon then did a whole research project and put together a canva presentation to represent North’s digital media pages such as Instagram, YouTube and TikTok and presented that to her colleagues.
“I think the people were wowed,” said Leon. “The sports department looked at it in addition to the digital media one and it felt like both groups were into it. I left that internship knowing for a fact that they now had lacrosse on their radar for a potential signing which was really cool because they probably would have never thought to look at lacrosse since they sign big stars like Adam Sandler.”
With just a couple of months left before graduation, Leon reflected on some of her journey and the goals that she still wants to accomplish before her collegiate time comes to an end.
“I recently met with Coach Dando and told her that I feel like I'm putting so much pressure on myself because I basically had only one season on this team so far and while I accomplished so much and am so happy, I’m never satisfied,” said Leon. “Now that I found the success I did last year, I just want to do more. It’s good pressure that I am putting on myself, but I think I am starting to realize that I need to just work hard and let everything happen the way it is supposed to. I just need to be a good teammate and person both on and off the field and everything will work out since it's driven by hard work. I want to succeed more than I did last season, but I can’t put pressure on that.”
While Leon is off to a great 2026 campaign and the Bison are 4-1 on the season with their only loss coming at Penn State, there is one goal that she wants to achieve above all else.
“At the end of the day, I just really want to make the playoffs,” said Leon. “That’s all I want. If that means not getting any personal accolades I don't care, I just want to help this team get to the playoffs.”
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