Coaching Staff
Kevin LeValley
Assistant Coach
Former Bucknell wrestling great Kevin LeValley returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach in May 2015. A 2011 Bucknell graduate, he was a two-time All-American during his time as a Bison and still holds school records for wins in a season and a career. He became a first ballot Bucknell Athletics Hall of Famer in 2021.
LeValley, who served as team captain, had a remarkable collegiate career, earning All-America honors in 2010 and 2011. The three-time NCAA qualifier at 149 pounds compiled a 127-40 career record, including a 42-8 mark as a junior and 34-3 ledger as a senior. He became the second Bucknell wrestler to win an EIWA title, handing Cornell's Kyle Dake, a four-time national champion, his final collegiate loss in the 2011 EIWA finals at Sojka Pavilion.
Following his graduation from Bucknell with a degree in education, LeValley moved to Minneapolis to pursue a master's degree in applied kinesiology and sport management at the University of Minnesota, which he obtained in December 2013.
LeValley spent four years at Minnesota working as an administrative assistant and recruiting coordinator with the Gophers wrestling team that placed in second, third, second and eighth at the NCAA Championships. Additionally, LeValley was a coach at the Pinnacle Wrestling School in Shoreview, Minnesota.
While at Minnesota, LeValley continued to compete internationally for the Gopher Wrestling Club and Minnesota Storm. He was ranked as high as 12th in the world and was a member of the U.S. National Team at 70kg (154 pounds). He has had great success in international competitions, earning gold at the 2013 Cerro Pelado International in Cuba, taking second at the 2014 Alexander Medved International in Belarus and placing first at the 2017 Dave Schultz Memorial International. He also finished fourth at the 2014 U.S. Open and third at the 2015 World Team Trials.
LeValley and his wife, Amanda, were married in October 2014. She is a certified athletic trainer. They have two sons, Harlan and Thaller.
Eric Morrill
Assistant Coach
Eric Morrill joined the Bucknell wrestling staff as an assistant coach in May 2018.
Morrill spent the past three seasons in the same position at Ohio University, where he helped mentor one All-American and 11 NCAA qualifiers. In 2015-16, his first season with the program, a record seven Bobcats qualified for the NCAA Championships, with Cody Walters earning All-American accolades for the second year in a row.
Ohio University finished third at the 2016 MAC Championships and fifth at the 2018 edition. The Bobcats went an impressive 13-3 during the 2015-16 campaign and, over the course of Morrill's time in Athens, had one wrestler win a MAC title and three finish as MAC runner-up. The program also brought in its highest ranked recruiting class, with three recruits slotted in the top 100 nationally.
Before joining the Bobcat staff, Morill spent four seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at ACC powerhouse Virginia Tech. During his time in Blacksburg, the Hokies won the 2013 and 2014 ACC Championships and placed a then program-best eighth at the 2014 NCAA Championships. Morill worked directly with nine All-Americans and the first NCAA finalist in school history.
Morrill was a three-time NCAA qualifier at Edinboro University, where he graduated in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in Health Studies. Morrill, who wrestled at 125 pounds his first three seasons before bumping up to the 133-pound weight class as a senior, posted a 90-45 record. As a junior, he compiled a 31-9 ledger and was ranked as high as fourth in the country. As a senior, he went 24-10, won an Eastern Wrestling League title and qualified for the NCAA Championships at his new weight class. He also placed second at the EWL Championships as a sophomore and fourth as a true freshman.
Morrill received his master's degree in 2017 from Ohio University in Recreation & Sport Sciences with a concentration in Coaching Education and his Health Counselor Certification in 2013 from the Institute of Integrated Nutrition.
Tyler Smith
Volunteer Assistant Coach
Four-time NCAA qualifier Tyler Smith returned to Bucknell as a volunteer assistant wrestling coach in August 2021.
Smith, who graduated from Bucknell in 2018 ranked ninth in program history with 107 career victories, was the head wrestling coach at the United States Military Academy Preparatory School from 2019 to 2021. While at West Point Prep, he also served as the Director of the West Point Regional Training Center, working in tandem with the Army West Point coaching staff.
During the 2018-19 campaign, Smith was an assistant coach at the Virginia Military Institute. That season, Neal Richards was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Southern Conference Championships after winning the 174-pound title; Richards also represented the Keydets at the NCAA Championships and was tabbed as the SoCon's Wrestler of the Year.
As a Bison student-athlete, Smith worked as a camp counselor at the Bison System Wrestling Camps and the JRBOB Intensive Camps. He was also an active member of Bucknell Athletics Leadership Institute before his graduation with a bachelor's degree in political science.
On the mat, Smith was the fifth Bison to qualify for the NCAA Championships all four years of his collegiate career and the 10th to reach the 100-victory plateau. He was a three-time EIWA placewinner at 141 pounds, taking second in 2018, third in 2015 and fourth in 2017. At the NCAA Championships, he finished one win away from earning All-America laurels in 2018 and 2017.
Smith's name is peppered throughout the Bucknell record book. At the time of his graduation, he was ranked eighth in single-season dual wins (16, 2017-18), 11th in career winning percentage (.743), 11th in single-season wins (31, 2016-17) and 12th in single-season winning percentage (.829, 2017-18). As a senior, he put together the 11th undefeated dual season in school history with his 16-0 record; he concluded his collegiate dual career on a 26-bout winning streak.