Kayla Howell Signs With Aquinas For Lacrosse

The anchor of Lowell’s defense coming off a successful girls lacrosse season where the team were conference champions, Kayla Howell will continue her lacrosse career at Aquinas College after a Lowell High School career that began in middle school.

Howell first picked up lacrosse in seventh grade after friends encouraged her to try the sport. What started as a way to stay in shape for basketball eventually became one of her favorite sports.

“I ended up loving it even more,” Howell said of lacrosse following the end of her senior season.

The Red Arrow defense which included Howell and LHS record holding goalkeeper Lyn Melby held opponents to just 121 goals over 19 games played while the offense scored 263. Lowell went 15-4 this season and won the West Michigan Lacrosse conference championship.

Over the course of the season, Howell won 33 ground balls, 16 caused turnovers, scored 1 goal, and had 1 assist.

“Kayla Howell is a true traditional low-X defender with a big, strong presence and the athleticism and physicality to shut down any matchup. She makes it extremely difficult for opposing attackers to score by disrupting passing lanes, denying cutters through the 8-meter, and controlling the defensive end of the field,” Coach Mallery Yaw said.

Her recruitment picked up after Lowell’s coaches encouraged her to create a SportsRecruits.com profile. Howell received interest from multiple programs, but Aquinas made the strongest impression by taking time to learn about her both as a player and as a person.

“Kayla also excels in transition, consistently clearing the ball upfield against high-pressure rides and helping our team maintain possession in critical moments. She is a force to be reckoned with in one-on-one situations, often stepping up when we needed key defensive stops and slowing down opposing offenses. Her toughness, leadership, and ability to anchor the defense were instrumental to our success the past two seasons,” Yaw added.

Howell said choosing Aquinas became an easy decision after connecting with the coaching staff and visiting campus.

Kayla poses in front if Aquinas’ photogenic Academic Affairs Office (Photo - Kim Perry)

“Choosing Aquinas was an easy choice because I loved the campus so much,” Howell said.

Howell was all-conference in 2025, team defensive MVP, and won the “best teammate award”. She served as a four-year varsity player and as captain her senior year. She said one game against Portage Northern stands out as her favorite high school lacrosse memory.

“My favorite high school moment in lacrosse was beating Portage Northern even though we got nine yellow cards and were down four people at the end of the game,” Howell said.

The Red Arrows season came to an end in a 14-4 loss to top-five ranked in the state FHC. Lowell finished the regular season ranked ninth.

In addition to lacrosse, Aquinas also fits Howell’s academic plans. She intends to major in psychology as she works toward a career as an early childhood development therapist.

“Aquinas does still work with my career path considering I want to be an early childhood development therapist,” Howell said. “I will be majoring in psychology with an amazing professor who has already reached out and communicated with me.”

As she prepares for the next step, Howell credited her coaches for helping her reach the college level.

“I wouldn’t be where I’m heading without my coaches,” Howell concluded to Red Arrow Preps.

Kayla Howell signed with Aquinas College to continue her lacrosse career. She is pictured with her mom, Kim Perry, and her sister, Lexi Howell.