The Pittsburgh Pirates fan who experienced a terrifying 21-foot fall from an outfield wall and was hospitalized in critical condition is now conscious, aware, and capable of speaking.

A statement on the GoFundMe page created to assist Kavan Markwood announced on Saturday: ‘We are incredibly relieved and thankful to bring some positive news about Kavan.

‘As of this morning, Kavan is conscious, aware, and able to talk. Considering all he has endured since the incident on Wednesday night, his progress feels truly extraordinary.’

‘He still has a long road ahead of him, but today brought a moment of hope that we’ve all been holding onto.

‘Thank you all so much for your prayers, support, and generosity. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts as he begins the next phase of recovery.’

As of Saturday night, the page has raised just under $28,000 to contribute to Markwood’s recovery.

As the Pirates faced the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, the shirtless 20-year-old former college football player fell from atop the wall in right field – known by fans as the ‘Clemente Wall’.

He was tended to by medical personnel before being rushed to a nearby hospital, with Pittsburgh Police treating the incident as ‘accidental in nature’. 

A spokesperson for the South Allegheny School District, where Markwood played high school football, confirmed his identity earlier this week.

‘Everyone at South Allegheny would say he is a hard-working, highly resilient young man,’ the district rep, Laura Thomson, is quoted as saying. ‘He’s a fighter. He’s going to need that resiliency now.’

Thomson added: ‘He’s touched a lot of lives at South Allegheny. We’re a small community. He’s a household name here. Everyone knows him.

‘He has the prayers and the support of the South Allegheny community.’

Pirates owner Bob Nutting released a heartfelt statement of his own on Thursday as Markwood continued to recover in hospital.

‘We are all deeply saddened and truly heartbroken after the terrible accident that occurred last night,’ it began. 

‘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. In times like these, we must come together, support one another, and keep him and his loved ones in our prayers.

‘We also want to thank and appreciate the efforts of the first responders who rushed to his attention and provided him with compassionate care.’

According to Wheeling University’s athletics page, Markwood played for the Cardinals in 2023. He previously spent time at Walsh University. 

One of his former Cardinals coaches told TMZ Sports that he left the program for work in 2024, but they were hopeful he would return later this year.

‘He was a very good young man’ Zac Bruney said. 

Video posted to social media shows him falling over the Clemente Wall before plummeting onto the warning track. Markwood flipped while in the air before appearing to land on his head.

Following the scary fall, medics rushed over with a stretcher as he laid on the ground. He then received medical attention for about five minutes.

Photos showed that another fan appeared to follow him onto the field afterward, deliberately hopping over the wall from the first row.

Pirates icon Andrew McCutchen could be seen with his head in his hands in the immediate aftermath of the incident, and he also held a cross that hung from his neck.

Players from both teams could also be seen praying. 

The game ultimately resumed after Markwood was carted off of the field and brought to the hospital.

The Pirates addressed the moment in a statement after the game, writing that the fan received medical attention from both the Pirates and Cubs athletic training teams and other PNC Park personnel, who ‘reacted and responded immediately and administered care. 

‘He was transported to Allegheny General Hospital. No further information is available at this time. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.’