One of the best players in the young history of the Titan men’s lacrosse program, A.J. Levell was on the sidelines of his alma mater as an undergraduate assistant coach in 2014 and finished his first as a graduate assistant coach for UDM in 2015.
During his Titan coaching tenure, he has worked with the goalies and assisted with the Titan defense.
In 2015, he tutored sophomore goalie Jason Weber lead the nation in saves per game for the second-straight season with a 14.43 mark as well as finishing third in the nation and second in the MAAC with a .589 save percentage. As a team in 2015, Detroit was number one in saves per game (15.14) and was third in the MAAC in scoring defense (10.21).
Levell was a great asset in his first season as a coach, helping ease the transition in net to a pair of newcomers in redshirt freshman Connor Flynn and true freshman Jason Weber. Flynn won his first career start making 18 saves, while Weber was the MAAC's Rookie and Defensive Player of the Year.
The former netminder ended his illustrious career last season as he helped lead Detroit to its first-ever MAAC Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. A two-time All-MAAC Second Team award winner and three-time All-MAAC Tournament selection, he finished his collegiate career with 609 saves, a .525 save percentage, a 10.62 goals against average and 165 ground balls in 55 career games.
As a senior, he started all 12 games that he appeared in and posted 142 saves and 45 ground balls – third on the team - and was 15th in the nation with 11.83 saves per game, 17th in save percentage (.557) and 24th in goals against average (9.44). He topped the conference in save percentage and was third in GAA and saves per game, all career highs. He was tabbed the MAAC Defensive Player of the Week after making a season-high 18 saves – one off his career high – and allowing just seven goals in a crucial win against Canisius in the regular-season finale, a victory that clinched a spot in the MAAC Championships and then made a statement the next week allowing just six goals with 17 saves in the MAAC Semifinals victory over top-seeded Marist. He finished off his senior campaign with eight stops in the MAAC Championship over Siena and then had 10 in the near upset of #2 Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Championship.
In 2012, he was MAAC All-Tournament for the second-straight season and was awarded the Team MVP at the end of the year banquet after posting 152 saves – third in the MAAC – and corralling 43 ground balls – second on the team, finishing 13th in Division I with 10.86 saves per game and 20th in saves percentage (.541). In 2012, he also set a career-high with 19 saves at Georgetown.
He started to make a name for himself as a sophomore in 2011 as he guided UDM to the MAAC Championship game in just the third year of Titan lacrosse and their second in the MAAC. He started all 16 games in net earning Second Team All-Conference honors and tallied 179 saves on the year, second in the league, while also finishing second in the MAAC with a .521 saves percentage. He had 10 games on the year with double-digit saves, including 13 in the MAAC Tournament Semifinals victory over Marist and also 13 stops in the championship game against Siena.
As a freshman, he was the winning goalie for the first two wins in program history as Detroit beat Presbyterian and VMI in back-to-back games in 2010.
He originally came to the Motor City following a great prep career Dublin High School in Ohio. A four-year starter, he was a 2009 US Lacrosse Ohio Chapter All-American and recorded over 1,000 career saves. A three-time All-Region selection, including twice on the first team, he was All-Midwest Second Team as a sophomore and First Team as a junior.
He graduated from Detroit with a degree in business in 2014 and is now pursuing his masters in liberal studies.
