Tylee Craft, a wide receiver who was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer in 2022, died Saturday, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill football program announced Oct. 12.
The official X account for UNC’s football program wrote, “It is with love and fond memories that we announce Tylee Craft has begun his journey on the other side.”
“Tylee meant so much to so many and affected us in ways we’ll always be thankful for. He was 1-of-1 and, while he won’t be with us in body, he’ll be watching over us with his endearing smile and endless positivity,” the statement read. “On behalf of his family and our program, we sincerely thank everyone who supported Tylee during his battle with cancer. It means more than you know.”
After Saturday’s game against Georgia Tech, head coach Mack Brown told reporters, “We just heard that we lost Tylee Craft this morning.”
“What a difficult thing to tell a group of young people about one of their best friends,” he said.
Craft, who graduated from Sumter High School in South Carolina, appeared in several games his freshman and sophomore seasons at UNC as a wide receiver.
In March 2022, Craft announced on Instagram that after experiencing intense back pain, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, specifically Stage 4 lung cancer, according to an ESPN profile about Craft published in August.
Craft missed his junior and senior seasons, and he announced his decision to “medically retire” in July. The graduate student stayed close to the UNC football program by serving as a student coach.
After UNC’s Oct. 5 game against Pittsburgh, coach Mack Brown got emotional at a press conference while telling reporters that Craft had been hospitalized that morning, adding, “He’s really struggling. He needs a lot of thoughts and prayers.”
UNC’s game Saturday against Georgia Tech was dedicated to Craft, Brown said Oct. 7.
During the game, Craft’s family was honored on the field at the end of the first quarter, according to WRAL, an NBC affiliate in Raleigh.
Craft’s mother, September, shared a hug with Brown, who wore a shirt with Craft’s No. 13 on it.
The crowd at the game was asked to stand for 13 seconds of applause in Craft’s honor.
Craft was also honored by his teammates. Wide receiver J.J. Jones wore a jersey with Craft’s No. 13 during the game Saturday.