Former Coronado High School basketball star Garrett Levesque has verbally committed to play at Army after he graduates in 2021. The 6’5” guard announced his commitment via Instagram on Sept. 29.

“Army provided the best foundation for success in the future,” Levesque said regarding the reasoning behind his decision. “They were talking to me about a 4 for 40, so West Point would set me up with any job really anywhere and would provide resources to do whatever I wanted to do and while playing [Division 1] basketball.”

Levesque’s plan with Army consists of playing one year of basketball for Army’s prep school right after his 2021 graduation, since Army basketball players aren’t allowed to redshirt—a practice in which college athletes delay their participation to be eligible for a longer period of time. The 2022-23 season will then be his freshman year.

After playing his freshman and sophomore year in college, Levesque is required to sign a commitment to serve five years after he graduates. He will start out as a lieutenant, and two years later, will be promoted to captain. After he serves, Army will provide him the help he needs to pursue any further dreams.

“My mindset going into Army is definitely going to be positive,” Levesque said. “I’m trying to look at how it will set me up and how it will let me play basketball at the D-1 level.”

He has not yet counted out professional basketball, which is one of his options for his future beyond Army, but he prefers having backup plans that Army has the ability to provide.

“I do have aspirations – everybody has aspirations to go pro – but will you get there [is the real question].”

Levesque plans to graduate from Army with at least a bachelor’s degree but hasn’t decided what exactly he wants to do after his experience.

“I’m excited that basketball provided the opportunity to prepare me for my future,” he said. “And I’m also excited to prove wrong those schools that weren’t recruiting me.”

Levesque was also being recruited by California Baptist, UC Davis, and Texas A&M Commerce, among others.

Currently, Levesque is spending his senior year playing basketball at Vermont Academy, a small preparatory school in Rockingham, Vermont, that has produced talents such as the Detroit Pistons’ Bruce Brown and Simisola Shittu, who plays for the Windy City Bulls in the NBA G-League.

Levesque is focused on his season in Vermont before he heads off to West Point.

“The division [that Vermont Academy competes in] has some really good competition,” Levesque said. “So, my mindset is to get better as a player, and hopefully we can win a championship.”

His current schedule usually consists of school from 8:15 to 2:45 and workouts at 6 a.m. and 4 p.m., with individual workouts either before or after the 4 p.m. workout.

Levesque likes the Vermont Academy system and commented on how well-organized everyone is.

“It’s very small with about only 200 kids, so it’s a lot smaller than Coronado and gives a lot of attention to detail, not only academically but athletically.”

Over his varsity career at Coronado, which included his sophomore and junior years, Levesque averaged 8.8 points, five rebounds, and 1.8 steals per contest.

“I learned about being in a program, being committed to one thing, never backing out, and always having trust in your teammates,” Levesque said of his time at Coronado. “Trust the process, no matter what.”