NCDC Commitment Profiles: Mercer’s Terhaar Advancing To Alvernia
By Alexis Demopoulos
A two-year veteran of the NCDC Mercer Chiefs, defenseman Jack Terhaar is happy to announce his NCAA Division III commitment to Alvernia University for the 2025-26 season.
Terhaar, a native of Cranbury, N.J., has been with the Mercer Chiefs organization for a majority of his life and they have helped immensely shape him into who he is today. He signed with the Chiefs NCDC team during the 2023-24 season and played in 43 games. He returned for the 2024-25 season and played in 48 regular season games, tallying 17 points (four goals, 13 assists). Terhaar also appeared in 12 playoff games for the Chiefs in their deep playoff run.
“I can’t say enough good things about Mercer as a program,” said Terhaar. “I have played there most of my life and I have to thank the organization for my success along the way. Head Coach Rob Broderick has helped me become the player I developed into today and is one of the best coaches I have played for. It was easy to re-sign there. I felt like we had a good core group returning and it put our team in a good position to succeed and make a deep playoff run.”
Right before the playoffs started, Terhaar started communicating with the Alvernia coaching staff. He explained that the coaches liked his size, physicality and his skating abilities.
When looking for the right school, Terhaar was looking for school close to home, somewhere that would challenge him academically and where hockey was competitive and Alvernia checked all those boxes.
When visiting campus, he liked how everything was run and how clean and modern it was.
“On the hockey side, I was drawn to the culture,” said Terhaar. “The team is dedicated to improving and getting better each day and the culture of winning and improving is something I want to surround myself with. I wanted to play at a place closer to home with good competition as well. Academically I was drawn to the business programs that provide real world experience and opportunities for career growth.”
It’s important for Terhaar to keep working hard this offseason before heading to Alvernia to begin his college hockey career.
“I want to work on my offensive ability as well as continuing to strengthen the aspects of my game that have gotten me to this point,” said Terhaar.
The NCDC congratulates Jack Terhaar, his family, the Mercer Chiefs and Alvernia University for his commitment.