Jeremiah Tate, Wofford Basketball Player, Dies at 19

Jeremiah Tate, a Wofford College guard who was heading into his junior year, drowned Monday after jumping off a bridge to go for a swim. He was 19.  

"The entire Wofford College family is devastated and saddened today by the loss of Jeremiah Tate," director of athletics Richard Johnson said in a statement released on the school's athletics site. "Jeremiah was such a dedicated, loved and respected member of the men's basketball team. He had a wonderful personality and had many friends on campus extending outside of the athletic department. Our thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences are with his family. He will truly be missed."

Johnson, who was serving as a counselor at the YMCA's Camp Thunderbird, jumped 30 feet off of the Buster Boyd Bridge in Lake Wylie, South Carolina, and into the water with another counselor at 2 a.m. Monday morning, per Tony Burbeck of WCNC. While the other counselor was fine after the leap, Tate did not resurface and rescue teams were immediately called, Burbeck reported.

Rescuers eventually found Tate's body 120 yards from shore two hours later. 

“We’re heartbroken,” Molly Thompson, senior director of communication at the YMCA of Greater Charlotte, told Erin Bacon of the Charlotte Observer. “We’ve got grief counselors here to support our staff with prayers and love and whatever we can at this point.”

Tate appeared in 13 games across two seasons during his basketball career at Wofford. He scored his only career basket in a Feb. 10, 2014 game against Hiwassee College, playing a high of nine minutes. The Wofford release also notes his accomplishments off the court, which included being a nominee for the Allstate Good Works Team that honors student-athletes who make a difference in their communities.

Tate is survived by his parents, Frank and Carole Tate.

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