SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The legend of Pat Kavanagh continues to grow, as the men’s lacrosse great was named the ACC Anthony J. McKevlin Award winner which is given to the ACC’s top male athlete of the year as announced by the league on Wednesday afternoon.
Kavanagh becomes the first Notre Dame student athlete to win the honor and is the third Notre Dame student athlete to earn conference player of the year honors, joining Arike Ogunbowale and Molly Seidel, who were named ACC women’s athlete of the year in 2018 and 2016, respectively. The grad student is also just the third men’s lacrosse player to be selected in the award’s history, which began in 1954.
The award is just the latest in the haul of honors that Kavanagh has garnered. The Rockville Centre, New York native became Notre Dame’s first recipient of the Tewaaraton Award, which is given to the top lacrosse player in the country following the season.
Kavanagh is also a nominee for the ESPYS Male Collegiate Athlete of the Year award which will be announced on July 11 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. To vote for Pat click here.
Kavanagh is also a three-time Tewaaraton Finalist and the 2024 ACC Offensive Player of the Year. The attackman was one of the driving forces behind Notre Dame’s back-to-back national titles in 2023 and 2024, the first two in program history.
The graduate student set the all-time career Notre Dame points (301) and assists (184) records, becoming the only player in program history to reach the 300-point milestone. Kavanagh also holds the top four spots on the program’s record list for assists in a season as well as two of the top three spots for points in a season.
Kavanagh cemented his status as an all-time great during the 2023 NCAA Championship run, as he played through multiple severe injuries to help the Irish capture their first title in program history. The Rockville Centre, New York, native followed the 2023 season up with an 80-point year as a graduate student as Notre Dame successfully defended its national championship.
Twenty of Kavanagh’s 80 points came in four NCAA Tournament contests, including a six-assist performance in the NCAA National Championship win over No. 7 Maryland.