STILLWATER, OK – A 21-year-old Raleigh native collapsed and died after a team workout at Oklahoma State University on Thursday night.
Tyrek Coger had just arrived on campus on July 5, the school said in a statement on its website.
Coger was a junior college transfer from Cape Fear Community College. He attended high school at Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh.
The 6’8″ forward was remembered by his coach, Brad Underwood.
“Tyrek was excited to be at Oklahoma State and had such passion for the game and was looking forward to being an OSU Cowboy,” Underwood said. “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,”
According to Oklahoma State University officials, Coger was taken to Stillwater Medical Center. He was pronounced dead at 6:23 p.m.
Underwood said he was devastated by the news.
Coger’s former Word of God Christian Academy (WOGCA) coach Brian Clifton said he was, “very shocked and saddened,” to hear the news late Thursday night.
Clifton described Coger as a player who had been through a lot, but was finally on his way to a good athletic and academic career. Coger just joined a Division I basketball team which was a life-long dream of his, according to Clifton.
The WOGCA basketball coach says his former forward had worked his way up from two years at a junior college and “did what he had to do on and off the court” to succeed, which is why Clifton says Coger’s death is particularly heart-wrenching, since the player was so close to reaching his dreams.
