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From a young boy to a grown man, Jason Reynolds has never let himself be outworked — not with the mentality his dad instilled in him.

Before he was a high school or collegiate basketball star, Reynolds learned the game from his father, Kris, both on the youth circuit with his dad as coach and on a court behind the family’s Winslow home. Of all the lessons Reynolds learned from his dad, one stood out.

“My dad would always tell me, ‘Every single rebound is yours,’” Reynolds said. “Whether it’s boxing out or just going for a loose ball, I’ve just always wanted to make sure I can be in the best position possible to go out and get the next one.”

It’s a mentality that’s helped make Reynolds, a 2023 Winslow High School graduate, the best rebounder on every floor he’s played. Now a junior at the University of Maine at Farmington, he leads the entire country — yes, every men’s basketball player in Divisions I, II and III — in double-doubles and total rebounds.

The 6-foot-4 Reynolds’ name is familiar to those who follow high school basketball in central Maine. Winslow’s all-time leading scorer, he averaged 28.8 points and 15.5 rebounds his senior year, leading the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference across all classes.

After coming off the bench for UMaine-Farmington his freshman and sophomore seasons, Reynolds has solidified a starting role. In addition to the national bests in double-doubles (20) and total boards (323), he has been named North Atlantic Conference Defensive Player of the Week seven times.

“It’s definitely a more physical game (at the college level), and it was a matter of getting used to that,” Reynolds said. “I started to get more knowledge of (the accolades) as the season went on, and it’s great, but for me, it’s really just about doing my job out there.”

Since scoring only nine points Nov. 19 against Bowdoin, Reynolds (17.3 points; 14.7 rebounds, most in Division III) has posted double-doubles in 18 consecutive games. He’s recorded 20 or more rebounds three times in his past seven games, notching a career-high 24 on Jan. 17 against SUNY-Cobleskill.

College basketball has forced Reynolds to win on the boards in a much different environment. Whereas his 6-4 frame gave him a natural advantage over many of Winslow’s high school opponents, players at this level are taller, longer and more athletic.

Yet Reynolds’ dominance has been the same. He leads Division III in total rebounds by a wide margin — 90 more than Wartburg’s Ethan Yungtum at No. 2 — despite being tied with two others for the shortest players on the list’s top 30 (the others are all 6-5 or taller).

“He’s outrebounding guys who are 6-7 and 6-8 or more, and that’s just something that comes down to his tenacity and his drive to win,” said UMF coach Quinn Newton. “At the highest level, you have to be able to defend and rebound, and having a guy like Jason (who) you know can get a lot of rebounds, for us is nice.”

What stands out, Newton said, is Reynolds’ knack for the ball. His awareness is evident not only in his ability to grab the ball where it is, but to judge where it’s going to be, a skill UMF’s second-year coach compared to the game’s all-time great rebounders, such as Dennis Rodman.

It’s a point of pride for Kris Reynolds. Jason, his dad said, has always wanted the ball and shown a willingness to do anything to get it. Reynolds’ strength — another badge of honor in a family of farmers — has helped him against some of the top players in the North Atlantic Conference and elsewhere in Division III.

“I try not to tell everybody about what he’s doing, but I’ve been telling everybody,” Kris Reynolds said. “With his strength, he gets into the defender and can move him out of the way with his legs without having to push in the back. He wedges himself in there.”

Double-doubles, of course, also require the ability to score consistently, and Reynolds can do so in a variety of ways. In addition to his ability to get to the rim, he’s a strong 3-point shooter, going 8 of 9 from beyond the arc Jan. 6 against Vermont State-Johnson.

It’s a major reason why UMF (17-5) is atop the NAC with a 14-1 conference record. With Hampden Academy alum Zach McLaughlin (25.0 points per game, fifth in Division III) also leading the way, the Beavers are seeking a NAC tournament title that would clinch their first NCAA berth since 2010.

“It would be nice to be the No. 1 rebounder, but we have a goal to win the NAC championship, and that’s the No. 1 goal for us,” Reynolds said. “I have great teammates and great coaches, so it’s just about staying levelheaded — never too high, never too low.”