Vanderbilt pitcher Donny Everett dies in drowning accident

Vanderbilt pitcher Donny Everett dies in drowning accident

Vanderbilt pitcher Donny Everett dies in drowning accident

Vanderbilt pitcher and Clarksville native Donny Everett drowned at a Coffee County lake on Thursday night, but the Commodores have opted to still play their NCAA Regional versus Xavier at 7 p.m. Friday.

Everett, 19, tried to swim across Normandy Lake while fishing with two Vanderbilt teammates and two other friends. He made it halfway across but was pulled under and never resurfaced, according to a report from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department.
On Friday afternoon, Vanderbilt baseball tweeted a tribute video to Everett with the simple message, "Love you, Donny." And the NCAA is holding a moment of silence in honor of Everett at all 32 regional games across the country Friday, an NCAA representative confirmed.
Vanderbilt players' parents have urged Commodores fans to wear black and gold ribbons in honor of Everett at Friday's game.
Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin met with players and coaches late Thursday night to inform them of Everett’s death and then again Friday morning to decide whether to play their game against Xavier as scheduled. NCAA site representative Bob Jones said the NCAA office, along with the other three regional coaches from Xavier, Washington and UC-Santa Barbara, agreed that Vanderbilt could put the regional on hold at least one day if the Commodores were not yet ready to play.
“They decided to go ahead and play to honor the young man,” Jones said. “They could have delayed it a day. I talked to the other three coaches, and they were all on board with whatever would be best (for Vanderbilt). They had heartfelt sympathies for the Vanderbilt family.”
Vanderbilt coaches and players spent the afternoon in Clarksville grieving with the Everett family. Vanderbilt will not hold a press conference until after the conclusion of its game Friday night.
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Corbin began informing athletics department personnel of Everett's death Thursday night. And on Friday morning, athletics director David Williams issued a statement before returning to Nashville from the SEC spring meetings in Destin, Fla.
In the statement, Williams said: "We learned last night of the tragic death of Donny Everett, an outstanding young man who exemplified the best of our university. As you can imagine, the team, the athletic department and the university are trying to come to terms with this tragedy. His parents and loved ones are on our minds and in our prayers as we share in their grief.”


Everett just finished his freshman year at Vanderbilt. 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 John Heyman.


“My heart just sunk, and my heart goes out to his family,” Clarksville Northeast High baseball coach Dustin Smith said. “Everyone knows Donny and loves him because he’s the most successful pitcher to come out of Clarksville, and they knew that his future was so bright.”
David Chester, who owns a farm next to the Everett home, saw Vanderbilt's bus pull into the Everett's driveway Friday. Chester has known the Everetts for several years, and he remembers watching Donny practice pitching against a backstop along the driveway that led to the family home.
“I sure miss hearing that baseball hit that backstop every day," Chester said.

The two Vanderbilt teammates and two friends with Everett when he drowned have not been identified.
The Coffee County Sheriff’s report said Everett was on the west side of the bridge with one of his friends when he tried to swim across the lake to the east side to join the other three friends.
“Everett got about halfway across the waterway when he began asking for help,” the Coffee County Sheriff’s report said. “All four individuals stated that they thought Everett was ‘just joking around’ because he was smiling and did not seem to be in distress. One person did enter the water and pulled Everett several feet but stated that he is not a good swimmer and was struggling to stay afloat.
“He stated that Everett did not seem to be struggling,” the report continued. “The friend stated that he let go of Everett and swam back to shore still thinking Everett was ‘joking.’ He stated that when he looked back, Everett had gone under and did not re-surface.”
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.
Heartfelt messages poured out on social media Friday morning. Dansby Swanson, a former Vanderbilt player and No. 1 draft pick, tweeted, “My heart is completely broken. There are special prayers being said for the @VandyBaseball family. May you rest easy in heaven, Donny.”
Everett was a popular and humble player for the Commodores. As a high-profile high school player and the 2015 Gatorade Tennessee Player of the Year, he had relationships with some Vanderbilt teammates long before enrolling at the school.
Jerry Snider, father of Vanderbilt sophomore pitcher Collin Snider, called Everett was “a polite and humble young man with a smile that would light up a room. His size could be intimidating, but he was a big teddy bear.”
Roger Wright, father of Vanderbilt sophomore pitcher Kyle Wright, said teammates affectionately called Everett, "The Donald." He added, "The Donald was a great kid and a great friend to my son. Our hearts are broken for his parents."
Everett, a 6-foot-2, 230-pounder, was a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher who clocked a 97 mile-per-hour fastball on his first pitch at Vanderbilt in mid-April after sitting out the first half of the season with an injury.
Everett was among the top signees in Vanderbilt’s No. 1 ranked recruiting class a year ago. He pitched well once he recovered from his injury and took the mound, logging a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings.