Chris Kavanagh, CJ Kirst and the Legacy Game

Notre Dame’s Chris Kavanagh and Cornell’s CJ Kirst come from similar molds, and it’s far more than just their red hair.

The leading Tewaaraton Award candidates are senior attackmen with insatiable competitiveness and creative arsenals cultivated in backyard battles with their brothers. They come from lacrosse royalty. Each is the fourth brother in their family to play Division I lacrosse.

Kavanagh follows Matt, Brendan and Pat, while oldest brother, Kevin, played hockey at Stony Brook and his sister, Colleen, played soccer at Manhattan.

Kirst follows Connor, Colin and Cole. Younger brother, Caden, is a freshman playing for Rutgers.

Their families joined forces last summer to host a pair of lacrosse camps. One was held in the Kirst’s hometown of Bernardsville, N.J. The other was at Chaminade on Long Island, where the Kavanaghs went to high school.

“It was both families, which was pretty cool,” Kirst said. “I have a lot of respect for him. He's a great player and he's done tremendous stuff at Notre Dame, especially with their team.”

Kavanagh formed a dynamic 1-2 punch with his brother Pat the past three seasons and led the Fighting Irish to their first national championships in 2023 and 2024. When Notre Dame was left out of the NCAA tournament in 2022 — “probably the worst day of my life,” Kavanagh said — Kirst helped Cornell reach the national title game in his first college season. Between them, they have played in the last three NCAA finals.

“We both love the game. We both love playing,” Kavanagh said. “We love giving back and doing those camps with each other. Especially when you get to get together with a family like that, it's always good. Probably one the happiest guys, one of the happiest families I've ever met. Their joy and happiness is contagious, and they're just fun to be around.”