Kavan Markwood, a former college football player, has been identified as the Pittsburgh Pirates fan who fell from the stands at PNC Park during the Pirates’ game against the Chicago Cubs
Veteran outfielder and team leader Andrew McCutchen said Thursday that the Pittsburgh Pirates were left reeling after a fan’s terrifying fall onto the playing surface at PNC Park swiftly transformed a happy moment into “devastated” concern.
Who is Kavan Markwood as video of Pittsburgh Pirates fan as he falls from PNC Park Stadium Clemente Wall stand railing goes viral
NEW: 20-year-old ex-college football player ID’d as fan who fell over 21-foot wall at Pirates game
Kavan Markwood is fighting for his life in a Pittsburgh hospital after the fall
He fell from the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall during Pirates vs. Cubs game
Markwood appeared… pic.twitter.com/FGxebmNEfK
— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) May 1, 2025
In 2023, 20-year-old Kavan Markwood was a linebacker for the Wheeling University Cardinals. He fell from around 21 feet in Pittsburgh’s PNC Park and was sent to a nearby hospital in severe condition. Near the conclusion of the Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Chicago Cubs game, Markwood fell from the stands at PNC Park.
He was applauding when Andrew McCutchen gave the Pirates a 4-3 lead with an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh inning. Markwood landed on the warning track after falling from above the 21-foot Clemente Wall. According to Pittsburgh Public Safety, the occurrence is being regarded as an accident.
Kavan Markwood is a 20-year-old from McKeesport, Pennsylvania and graduated from the South Allegheny School District. Markwood, 20, remained in critical condition Thursday after falling during the Pittsburgh Pirates-Chicago Cubs game the previous night.
In 2022, Kavan Markwood, a McKeesport, Pennsylvania native, received his diploma from South Allegheny High School. He participated on special teams and recorded four total tackles in five games for the Wheeling University Cardinals in 2023.
Identified by the South Allegheny School District, Markwood is a McKeesport native and a former linebacker for Wheeling University.
He was undersized as a freshman and sophomore, when Crown was the South Allegheny coach, but after a growth spurt, Markwood became a crucial part of the team as a junior and senior under head coach Frank Cortazzo III and was an outside linebacker and running back, all-conference and team MVP as a senior, and he went on to play for Walsh University and Wheeling University, earning MEC Commissioner’s Honor Roll at Wheeling in 2023.
⏳⏳⏳⏳ pic.twitter.com/gzVkUZsPtM
— Kavan Markwood🤘🏽🦍 (@KavanMarkwood) April 18, 2023
Man Who Fell Identified as 20-Year-Old South Allegheny Grad, Still in Critical Condition
byu/judehaz inbuccos
Position: Linebacker
Height: 5-11
Weight: 215
Class: Redshirt Freshman
Hometown: McKeesport, PA.
Highschool: South Allegheny HS
According to witnesses, Markwood, who was obviously drunk, went up on the railing and then fell onto the field by accident. Following a prompt response from both teams’ players and emergency services, Markwood was taken to Allegheny General Hospital, where he is now in critical condition.
“We are all deeply saddened and truly heartbroken after the terrible accident that occurred last night,” Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement. “It was one of the most difficult moments many of us have ever experienced. We are devastated. Pirates baseball is a community, and our fans are like family.
One of the team’s most well-liked players, McCutchen, expressed his hope that the man’s family members understand how worried the players are.
According to a statement released by Pittsburgh Public Safety on Thursday, “this incident is being treated as accidental in nature. The patient is still in the hospital in critical condition.”
Prayer warriors, please pray for the full recovery of former Walsh University student and football player Kavan Markwood, who fell from the stands at the Pittsburgh Pirates game last night. Lord, please surround him with your healing presence to restore his body and spirit. pic.twitter.com/oQjB63CSTW
— Walsh University (@WalshUniversity) May 2, 2025