Tyrek Coger pictured on his Facebook page.
A 21-year-old junior at Oklahoma State University died suddenly on July 21. The death of Tyrek Coger was first announced in a statement from OSU. That release said that the Raleigh-native passed away at around 6:23 p.m. following a workout with his new basketball teammates.
Head Basketball Coach Brad Underwood said, “Tyrek was excited to be at Oklahoma State and had such passion for the game and was looking forward to being an OSU Cowboy. Losing a member of the team is like losing a member of the family. But we know our loss pales in comparison to the pain his family is going through.” The statement says that Coger played in 2016 at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, North Carolina.
The Stillwater News-Press, who were the first to report upon Coger’s death, says that the 21-year-old suffered heat exhaustion. The newspaper adds that Coger “collapsed on the stairs of Boone Pickens Stadium” just after 5 p.m.
Upon his signing for Oklahoma State University, the Stillwater News-Press ran a feature that detailed Coger’s health issues. While a high school student at Word of God Christian Academy in North Carolina, Coger complained of headaches. Doctors discovered fluid around his brain and forced him to have a draining operation. Coger recovered and went to play college ball in Florida but following the death of his grandfather, who nursed his grandson back to health, Coger returned to play at Cape Fear Community College.
According to SEC Country, while at Cape Fear, Coger managed 12 points and 8 rebounds per game. While he was expected to enroll at Ole Miss for 2017, to the extent that his Facebook page lists him as a student, the SEC ruled against the transfer over his failure to complete three straight semesters at a school.
A family spokesman released a statement on Coger’s father’s Facebook page reading:
Per Mike Coger and his family, he thanks everyone for their prayers during this difficult time. Please, please, please be respectful and allow he and his immediate family time to process the sudden loss of his son Tyrek Coger.
Please feel free to post and/or inbox your condolences, but hold the phone calls tonight. Mike is a friend to many, many people. He absolutely have been and will continue to answer each and every phone call if he could, but it’s impossible to do so.
Right now he, Tyrek’s mother Ms.Collins, and brother’s Mike Coger, Zack, and Miguel need your prayers for strength during their hours of bereavement.
So again, please be respectful to the family and allow them time to grieve the sudden and unfortunate loss of one of his heart strings.
(Facebook)