Rutgers University Athletics

2023 USILA Scholar All-American
Selected for the 2023 USILA Senior All-Star Game
2023 Team Captain
2022 Big Ten Preseason Player to Watch
2022 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award
Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award Winner
2022 Big Ten Defensive player of the week (April 5)
2021 Big Ten Defensive player of the week (April 13)
2021 and 2020 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar
Four-time Academic All-Big Ten Selection (2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023)
Inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma (national collegiate honor society)
Member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC)

In the News: As defender helps NCAA push, his family's Italian restaurant is all-in

2023: Starter in all 14 games at defense ...had 31 ground balls and career-best 15 caused turnovers ... also had two goals and an assist ...third on team in caused turnovers and fourth in ground balls .. had a goal and assist with three caused turnovers and four ground balls in season-opening win over Marist (Feb. 4) ... posted four ground balls and two caused turnovers in win over Stony Brook (Feb. 11) ... picked up three ground balls at Army (Feb. 18) ... scooped two ground balls in win over No. 5/6 Loyola (Feb. 25) ... had two ground balls against St. John's (Feb. 28) ... collected three ground balls and caused a turnover in win over Utah (March 4) ... had two caused turnovers and four ground balls in win over No. 13/14 Princeton (March 11) ... caused two turnovers and recorded two ground balls in 11-5 win at RV/RV UMass (March 18) ... had two ground balls and a caused turnover at Ohio State (March 26) ... scooped a ground ball at No. 7 Johns Hopkins (April 1) ... scored a goal with a ground ball and caused turnover against No. 4 Maryland (April 16) ... forced two turnovers and picked up two ground balls in loss at No. 5 Penn State (April 21) ... picked up one ground ball and caused one turnover in loss to No. 4 Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament (April 29).

2022: Starting defenseman in all 19 games ... had career-highs in ground balls (42), caused turnovers (12), goals (two) and assists (five) ... had a goal, five ground balls and two caused turnovers in season opening win over LIU (Feb. 5) ... posted assist with four ground balls and caused turnovers in win over Marist (Feb. 9) ... had an assist in win vs. St. John's (Feb. 12) ... scooped three ground balls in win over No. 10 Army (Feb. 19) … had one ground ball in win at No. 19 Loyola (2/26) ... had a ground ball and caused turnover at No. 7 Princeton (March 11) ... posted an assist, ground ball and caused turnover in team's win over Lafayette (March 15) ... scored a goal and scooped two ground balls in win at Hofstra (Mar. 19) ... had an assist, a ground ball, as well as a caused turnover in win vs. No. 8/9 Ohio State (Mar. 27) ... had 6 ground balls to go along with a caused turnover in win vs. Johns Hopkins (Apr. 3) ... recorded a ground ball at No.1 Maryland (Apr. 10) ... had a ground ball in win at Michigan (Apr. 16) ... posted an assist, ground ball, and caused turnover in win vs. Penn State (Apr. 23) ... had two ground balls and a caused turnover in win over No. 12 Ohio State in Big Ten Semifinals (May 5) ... had four ground balls and a caused turnover against No. 1 Maryland in Big Ten Championship game (May 7) ... had three ground balls and a caused turnover in 19-9 home win over No. 14/17 Harvard in NCAA Tournament First Round (May 15) ... had two ground balls in NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals win over No. 3 Penn (May 21) to send team to Final Four ... collected four ground balls and caused a turnover in Final Four against No. 10 Cornell (May 28)

2021: Starting defenseman in all 13 games ... posted career-bests with 28 ground balls, 11 caused turnovers, a goal and an assist ... had one ground ball and two caused turnovers in the home opener win against PSU (Feb. 20)... had 4 ground balls and two caused turnovers in win against OSU (Feb. 27)... posted 4 ground balls and 2 caused turnovers in win against Michigan (March 6)... had 2 ground balls and caused turnover in win against Johns Hopkins (March 20)... had 2 ground balls and caused turnover against Maryland (March 28)... had ground ball and caused turnover in win against OSU (April 3)... scored first career goal and collected 5 ground balls in win against Penn State (April 10)... posted 3 ground balls in win against JHU (April 17)... had an assist and two ground in regular season finale win against Michigan (April 25) ... had ground ball in Big Ten Semifinals versus Johns Hopkins (May 6) ... contributed to lockdown defensive effort with ground ball and caused turnover in 12-5 win over Lehigh in NCAA Tournament ... had two ground balls and caused a turnover in NCAA Quarterfinals againste No. 1 seed UNC (May 22)

2020: Played in all six games on rope unit with five ground balls and four caused turnovers ... posted three ground balls and caused a turnover in win over Quinnipiac (Feb. 1) ... caused a turnover in win at St. John's. (Feb. 8) ... collected a ground ball at No. 11/12 Loyola (Feb. 22)... had one ground ball and caused two turnovers in game against Stony Brook (Feb. 29).

2019: Saw action in six games as short-stick defensive midfielder ... made collegiate debut in win over Lafayette (Feb. 2) ... had a ground ball against No. 16 Lehigh (March 12) 

Prior to Rutgers: U.S. Lacrosse All American … Academic All American … 2018 First Team All-State … Two-time All-Group IV ... First team … two-time First Team All-Conference … 2018 team captain and MVP team was three-time Somerset County champions … ranked No. 40 incoming defensemen by Inside Lacrosse … 2017 Under Armour underclass All-American … selected to play in Gill-Gibbs NJ Senior All-Star Game in 2018 … also played basketball, leading team in three-point percentage as a senior… member of National Honor Society … parents are Rob and Anna … mother attended Rutgers University … has two older siblings, Bella and Liana.

A local product from nearby Bridgewater, Bobby Russo grew up learning the value of hard work from watching his parents run a successful Italian restaurant.

He's used that mentality to grow into a starting defenseman for #RUMLax pic.twitter.com/woIQHUb9QZ

— Rutgers Men's LAX (@RUmlax) March 3, 2022