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UPDATED: March 17, 2021 at 4:00 p.m.

Former Syracuse attack and three-time All-American Rob Kavovit has died, his teammates confirmed Wednesday. He was 45.

With the Orange, Kavovit won a national championship in 1995 and played in four Final Fours during his time. His 10 assists in the 1995 championship run are a program record, and his 18 tournament points that year are fourth all-time. As a sophomore, Kavovit scored four goals in the 13-9 championship game against Maryland for SU’s fifth NCAA title.

His freshman year, Kavovit led the Orange in assists with 22, and his 36 points that season are 12th all-time for a Syracuse freshman. He led Syracuse in assists three of his four years, except in 1997, when he was second behind Casey Powell. In total, his 121 career assists are seventh all-time at SU.

His senior year, though, was his most impressive. He was named a second team All-American and was second on the team in both goals (40) and assists (37). He scored four goals and four assists in four different games. In the final four, he also scored four goals in Syracuse’s 18-17 loss to Maryland.

Head coach John Desko called him “the complete package,” alluding to his intelligence as a player, his leadership and his academic abilities. When asked where Kavovit stands in regard to SU’s all-time greats, Desko described his elite dodging and scoring abilities.

“He just seems to be one the guy’s that’s not at the tip of everybody’s tongue, but certainly in that era, everybody knows how important Rob was to the program,” Desko said.

In addition to spending four years at Syracuse with Paul Carcaterra, the two played together at Yorktown Heights High School (NY.), winning three state championships. Kavovit recorded 310 points at Yorktown Heights, good for third in school history behind former SU players Tim and Tom Nelson. He got his masters degree in physical therapy from New York Medical College in 2001 and worked as a physical therapist.

“As my very best friend …. I will always love and cherish our time together!” Carcaterra said in a tweet.

This post will be updated with more reporting.

Published on March 17, 2021 at 11:31 am

aekaylor@syr.edu | @cincinnallie