For members of the Boston University Mock Trial Organization, making it to the national tournament reflects years of commitment and long hours of practice. Photo courtesy of BUMTO

Student Life

BU Mock Trial Program Sending Two Teams to Nationals This Weekend

The student organization made it through the country’s toughest qualifiers and continues a streak of national tournament appearances

For the first time since 2016, two teams from the Boston University Mock Trial Organization (BUMTO) will compete at the national championship. The 41st American Mock Trial Association’s National Championship Tournament will take place April 17 to 19 in Washington, D.C.

BU has typically sent one team to compete in the finals—but sending two teams increases the program’s odds of winning. 

BUMTO competes in one of the most competitive regions in the country, regularly facing big-name schools in the Northeast for a limited number of bids for nationals. The season began with 800 teams from across the country, and only 50 qualified for the championship.

“To get two teams out of that pack is really an incredible achievement,” says Gregory Comeau (CAS’01), the program’s head coach. “We are fighting against all the Ivy League teams, so it becomes very hard for one team to get there, let alone two.”

Mock trial competitions simulate courtroom trials, with students acting as attorneys and witnesses. Students present arguments and examine witnesses in front of panels of attorneys, law students, and judges, who issue ballots based on performance.

In the qualifying rounds, one of the BU teams advanced after defeating Yale on two of three ballots, while the other beat Harvard on all three. 

“Those are such elite schools,” Comeau says. “For us to be able to win ballots against them and advance, it is really a feather in the cap for the students.”

The qualifying wins continue a strong run for the student organization, which has sent at least one team to nationals every year since 2019. BUMTO’s A team is ranked No. 8 in the country, the highest among New England schools.

For the students, the milestone reflects years of dedication and long hours of practice. 

In the past week alone, the teams have held extended sessions and multiple scrimmages to prepare for a new case released specifically for the championship. 

“We’ve been practicing every single day,” says Samantha Genzer (COM’27), the organization’s treasurer and cocaptain of the B team. “We’ve had four-hour practices, and we even did an eight-hour practice on Saturday. It is definitely a big-time commitment, but it has been really exciting.”

Genzer says qualifying for nationals is especially significant this year.“Our B team hasn’t gotten a bid to nationals in 10 years, so this was a huge moment for us as a program,” she says. “It really helps build our program, because we have more people with different skill sets that are able to contribute.”

Garrett Olmsted (CGS’24, Questrom’26), the organization’s vice president and A team co-captain, says the program’s success is tied to how players work together.

“Everyone wants to help each other, and I think that is why we have been so successful,” Olmsted says. “It is much more collaborative now, and it makes it more like a family.”

Comeau, who has been coaching the program since 2009 and competed as a student himself in the 1990s, says the most meaningful part of the season is not the results, but the students’ progress.

“What I enjoy the most is watching the growth of the students, their ability to present their case persuasively, and their growth in public speaking over the course of the season,” he says. “It makes me incredibly proud of what they are doing.”

As BU prepares to compete in Washington, the program is looking forward to a national-level achievement. BUMTO has never won the championship. For Olmsted, the moment will represent both an opportunity and a test of how far the program has come this season.

“We’ve never done this well,” he says. “I really think this year we could go all the way.”