UT Martin basketball coach Anthony Stewart dies instantly at age 50

The College of Tennessee at Martin males’s basketball coach, Anthony Stewart, died instantly on Sunday. He was 50 years outdated. Stewart’s passing comes because the staff was slated to open its season later this month. He was making ready to enter his fifth season on the helm of the Skyhawks program.

“We’re surprised to listen to this tragic information,” Skyhawk athletic director Kurt McGuffin stated. “Coach Stewart was a real chief to each one of many younger males he coached. He emphasised the that means of a school diploma and instilled professionalism in every of his student-athletes. We ask for privateness throughout this tough time.”

The reason for Stewart’s dying at the moment is unknown. Stadium’s Jeff Goodman studies that he examined unfavorable for COVID-19 this previous Monday.

Stewart took over as UT Martin’s coach in 2016 when he was promoted from affiliate head coach to move coach to succeed Heath Schroyer. In his debut season, he guided the Skyhawks to 22 victories, equaling the varsity file for many wins in a single season. That season the Skyhawks received their first-ever outright Ohio Valley Convention West division championship.

“What I’ll keep in mind most about Coach Stewart was his focus in growing our younger males to be leaders of their neighborhood, leaders in the workforce and leaders of their houses,” UT Martin Chancellor Dr. Keith Carver stated. “He at all times harassed the event of all the individual, nicely past athletics.”

Martin started his athletics profession as a baseball and basketball participant at Mount Union within the early Nineteen Nineties. Within the early aughts, he paid his dues as an assistant on the small school circuit — at Columbus State and at Lengthy Seaside State — earlier than breaking by as an assistant at Wyoming in 2007. He then made stops as an assistant at Southern Illinois, Ohio and UT Martin within the years that adopted earlier than UT Martin elevated him to fill its head teaching place.

It is unclear at the moment who will take over this system within the wake of Stewart’s sudden passing. Whoever it’s will inherit a staff that went 9-20 final season however has loads of gifted stars, amongst them Parker Stewart, Anthony’s son, who transferred from Pittsburgh in 2018 to play for his father. Stewart averaged 19.2 factors per sport final season.