Junior college basketball player Ethan Dietz died from an injury that he suffered during a game that seemingly went untreated.
Dietz, a 20-year-old sophomore for Connors State College in Warner, Okla., appeared to take an elbow to the head during a game against Grayson College on Saturday. Video from the game showed Dietz getting hit in the head before being removed from the game.
Eventually, Dietz checked back into the game, but appeared to be struggling while on the floor. Eventually, he got the attention of coaches while holding his head, and was removed from the game again. He was not given any medical treatment, and instead sat at the end of the bench with a towel over his head.
Ethan Dietz passed away after sustaining a head injury during a Connors State Men's Basketball (@CSCMBB) game on Tuesday. Dietz was a sophomore, forward, at the college in Oklahoma. He was 20 years old. Dietz appeared to be hit in the head with an elbow pic.twitter.com/YADbKk6cpl
— Grand Canyon State Sports (@GCStateSports) November 28, 2025
Dietz apparently did not receive any treatment until more than two hours after the game, by which point the team had arrived back on Connors State’s campus. Emergency personnel responded to a call about an unresponsive person on campus that night.
Dietz died on Tuesday, three days after suffering the injury.
An Arkansas native, Dietz averaged 11 points and 9.4 rebounds in eight games this season.
