Walters Elevated to Men's Rowing Associate Head Coach

Connor Walters was elevated to Associate Head Coach of the Syracuse Men's Rowing program, Syracuse Head Coach Dave Reischman announced. Walters enters his fourth year with the Orange, who have consistently finished in the top 10 of the country since Walters arrived on campus.

"Giving Connor the title of Associate Head Coach more accurately reflects the value he brings to our program," Reischman said. "In addition to being our Recruiting Coordinator, he has increasingly taken on responsibilities that are essential for the operation of our team. We all rely on him for his positive, thoughtful leadership and he is a big reason for the success of our program over the past three years. We are very lucky to have him."

Walters joined the Orange prior to the 2022-23 season and made an immediate impact with the program. As the program's recruiting coordinator, he has elevated the recruiting efforts for the Orange, identifying talent and enhancing the recruiting experience for prospective student athletes at Syracuse.

"I feel so fortunate to be a part of Syracuse Rowing," Walters said. "Dave, our coaching staff, and the student-athletes all teach me something new every day. I'm humbled by the trust that Dave has put in me and will work hard every day to ensure our program's success on and off the water."

On the water, Walters guided the 3^rd Varsity Eight (3V8) to an eighth-place finish at the IRA Championship in his first spring (2023). The team finished eighth overall in the Ten Eyck Team Points standings at the national championship that same year. In 2024, he guided the 3V8 to an eighth-place finish for the second-straight year at the IRA Championship while the Orange finished seventh as a team.

"This program is special," Walters said. "Being part of it has made me a better coach and a better person. When you are surrounded by a community committed to the pursuit of excellence, it's amazing what you can achieve."

This past season, Walters coached the 2^nd Varsity Eight to a fourth-place finish at Eastern Sprints and fifth at the IRA Championship two weeks later. The fifth-place finish was the best finish for the 2V8 in the last 20 years. The Orange beat Brown and Yale in the grand final and finished behind Washington, Harvard and Cal, respectively.

Syracuse posted a program best Ten Eyck Team Points finish in 2025, placing sixth. All four Orange boats made the IRA Grand Final for the first time in program history since the IRA Regatta moved to its current format.

Walters began his coaching tenure as an assistant rowing coach at his alma mater Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2014. In 2019, Walters was promoted to head coach, a position he held until joining the Orange.

At Saint Ignatius Walters was tasked with leading a competitive boys scholastic rowing team, including overseeing team practices and training with the coaching staff for over 80 athletes. In his final spring at Saint Ignatius, he led his squad to program-best finishes at the Midwest and National Championships and raised over $250,000 dollars from 2019-22 for the program's capital needs.

In addition to his coaching duties, Walters served as the assistant director of communications for Saint Ignatius since 2014. His responsibilities included overseeing the editorial calendar and all phases of production for the quarterly alumni magazine, maintaining the school's website, assisting the communications team with social media content creation, and serving as the senior writer and copy editor for stories, profiles and features.

Walters was a contributing writer for ROWING Magazine from 2013-2021 where he reported and published race reports, news updates, profiles, and features on the rowing community.

A 2013 graduate of Marietta College, Walters was a four-year member of the men's rowing team and served as team captain as a senior. He was a member of the Pioneers lightweight eight that competed in the 2011 IRA National Championship and earned silver in the men's JV 8+ at the 2010 Dad Vail Regatta.

Syracuse University Athletics

Walters Elevated to Men's Rowing Associate Head Coach

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