Vandy pitcher Donny Everett drowns

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/AdamSparks/status/738707275502759936

Vanderbilt pitcher and Clarksville native Donny Everett drowned at a Coffee County Lake on Thursday night, according to sources close to the situation.

Coach Tim Corbin met with players and coaches late Thursday night to inform them of Everett's death. The Commodores are scheduled to play Xavier in their NCAA Regional game at 7 p.m. Friday.

Vanderbilt spokesman Rod Williamson said the status of Friday's game has not yet been decided because the university is still gathering information and athletics director David Williams is traveling back from the SEC spring meetings in Destin, Fla.

Everett, 19, just finished his freshman year at Vanderbilt. He was one of the nation's top high school pitchers while starring at Clarksville High.

Normandy Lake, which is located in Manchester, is about 44 minutes southeast of Murfreesboro by car. It is a popular spot for fishing and swimming.

Everett is the second Vanderbilt student-athlete to die in a drowning accident in just over a year. In May 2015, former Vanderbilt basketball player Dai-Jon Parker, 22, drowned in Indianapolis.

[#1 STUNNA]

sad deal...he was gonna be good one

[tennesseehogwild]

I live about 10 mins from Normandy and there are still no details on the drowning. It is a really sad deal for both the family and his Vandy family. Prayers out to all of them.

[Kevin]

Prayers for his family

[WilsonHog]

The young man apparently decided to swim across the lake but called to his buddies for help when he was about halfway across. He was smiling, so they didn't think he was really in trouble.

How sad for everyone involved.

[Scott7703]

The young man apparently decided to swim across the lake but called to his buddies for help when he was about halfway across. He was smiling, so they didn't think he was really in trouble.

How sad for everyone involved.

Feel terrible for everyone involved. Those other players especially need prayer.

[DEVIL DOG HOG]

So sorry, Prayers for him and his family

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/Tennessean/status/738846179421753344

Adam Sparks ‏@AdamSparks 2h2 hours ago

Updated: NCAA holds moment of silence at all 32 Regional games for Vandy's Donny Everett http://tnne.ws/25BgKi1

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/gogamecocks/status/738848266779926529

In addition to supportive tweets throughout the day, players wrote the initials "DE" along with a cross on the hats they will wear Friday night against Rhode Island at Founders Park. LSU's players also are remembering Everett the same way during their NCAA Tournament game.

https://twitter.com/Matt_Vogel22/status/738836055223308289

https://twitter.com/LSUTigersBook/status/738803161754918912

[Ray Piggers]

Had a friend drown in Bull Shoals in 2010, so this hits close to home. Incredibly sad for all involved. Prayers up

[TheRazorback500]

So sad. Prayers for the family and the team.

:razorback:

[jbcarol]

Kevin Brockway ‏@gatorhoops 28m28 minutes ago Pembroke Pines, FL

Vandy just eliminated from its home regional, but fans giving team standing ovation. Heavy hearts, for sure.

[the10mann]

My Dad drowned many years ago.  I can' t express how awful that Vandy loss was to me.  The lingering shot of the team in the dugout afterward was heart-wrenching.   Those players were anywhere but Nashville, and I fully understand.   God bless.

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/AdamSparks/status/739139167855120384

[jbcarol]

Adam Sparks ‏@AdamSparks Jun 4

Tim Corbin: "I haven't been through anything like that, and I'm 54 years old. So I know they haven't been through that."

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/AdamSparks/status/739538182052667392

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/AdamSparks/status/741660372260782080

[jbcarol]

Autopsy: Vanderbilt pitcher Donny Everett drowned, no drugs or alcohol in system

Autopsy results have confirmed drowning is to blame for the death of Vanderbilt pitcher Donny Everett, who died earlier this month.

The autopsy, conducted June 3 by Davidson County Assistant Medical Examiner David Zimmerman, shows the 19-year-old baseball player drowned at Normandy Lake in Coffee County on June 2 and that his manner of death was accidental.

A toxicology report shows that at the time of his death, Everett tested negative for drugs and alcohol in his system.

Coffee County Medical Examiner Albert Brandon wrote that Everett's death took place just before 5:40 p.m. in the lake near the Cat Walk Bridge.

According to a case summary, Everett was swimming across the lake to the bridge when he went under and did not resurface. He was found about one hour later in 25 feet of water.

According to a report from the Coffee County Sheriff's Department, before his death, Everett had been fishing with two friends and two Vanderbilt teammates, whom Coach Tim Corbin identified as pitchers Ryan Johnson and Chandler Day.

Everett called for help to his friends, but they thought he was "just joking around because he was smiling and did not seem to be in distress," the report said.

One person swam to Everett, but he told police that he struggled to stay afloat and had to let go and swim back to shore. "When he looked back, Everett had gone under and did not resurface," the report said.

Everett, the 2015 Boys Gatorade National baseball player of the year and Tennessee's first-ever Mr. Baseball, died on the eve of Vanderbilt's Super Regional game against Xavier.

He was one of the nation's top high school pitchers and a projected first-round pick in last year's Major League Draft. But Everett balked on a signing bonus of up to $2.5 million in June 2015 to instead play at Vanderbilt, according to CBS Sports baseball reporter Jon Heyman.

[jbcarol]

Vanderbilt football to honor pitcher Donny Everett at Saturday's game

Everett tragically passed away last spring in a drowning accident ahead of a Vanderbilt baseball NCAA Regional game against Xavier.

Susan and Teddy Everett, Donny's parents, will present the Anchor before Saturday's contest. They will also be recognized between the first and second quarters on the field for a scholarship in their son's name, which started at the beginning of the 2016 academic calendar.

In addition to the pregame ceremony, the Commodores will wear a No. 41 decal on their helmets this week in the pitcher's honor.

Everett was named the 2015 Gatorade Tennessee Player of the Year and was a key member of a Vanderbilt recruiting class that was ranked No. 1. The Clarksville, Tenn., native recorded a 1.50 ERA...

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/AdamSparks/status/774712710168653824

[jbcarol]

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