Death of Ball State’s Zach Hollywood, a Bradley native, ruled suicide

SHARE Death of Ball State’s Zach Hollywood, a Bradley native, ruled suicide
sgbweykjviipdeo_20160928211248.jpeg

MUNCIE, Ind. — Ball State coach James Whitford is offering condolences to the family of Zach Hollywood a day after the basketball player was found dead of an apparent suicide in an off-campus apartment.

Delaware County coroner Scott Hahn said Hollywood killed himself. The 19-year-old Hollywood was from Bradley, Illinois, and redshirted last season as a freshman.

His was discovered 1 p.m. Tuesday. Hollywood last tweeted at 4:39 a.m. Tuesday, saying “Be careful what you say to everyone because you don’t know what kind of battles they are going through.”

Hollywood played on the Ball State practice squad last season and had four years of eligibility remaining.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Zach Hollywood. Zach was a terrific young man with an incredibly bright future in front of him. His loss is a true tragedy for all those who knew and loved him,” Whitford said in a statement Wednesday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected, especially Zach’s family. This is an incredibly hard moment for everyone.”

Team spokesman Tyson Mathews said players and coaches would have no any additional comment.

Hollywood, a 6-foot-9 forward, was expected to play a significant role for the Cardinals this season. He chose Ball State after averaging 17.5 points during his senior season at Bradley-Bourbonnais High School.

He was born in Kankakee, Illinois. His father Scott played college basketball at Youngstown State. His mother, Susan, who died in August 2016, was described in her obituary as “Her son’s biggest sports fan.”

BSU student link profiled him earlier this year on dealing with the death of his mother.

“Everyone has their problems and battles they might not tell anyone,” Zach Hollywood said in the video. “When I feel pain, I just think about all the pain my mom felt and how much she still fought to try to make it through it. There’s no pain that I can feel that I can’t push myself through.”

Teammates remembered him on social media:

Contributing: Sun-Times staff

The Latest
Playing time has dwindled for Tinordi, a physical defensive defenseman who was a pleasant surprise for the Hawks last season but hasn’t found nearly as much success without Connor Murphy.
His surgeons spent 10 hours transplanting his new lungs and liver in September. Six months after the operation, Dr. Gary Gibbon remains cancer-free, able to breathe on his own and celebrated his 69th birthday on Wednesday.
White Sox fans from all over will flock to Guaranteed Rate Field on Thursday for the team’s home opener against the Tigers.
The lawsuit challenges Illinois’ counting of mail-in-ballots after election day, and has potential impact in this presidential election year.
Donald Trump is selling $60 Bibles, and if Jesus had not been resurrected, he most certainly would be rolling over in his grave.