Tylee Craft, a former wide receiver at North Carolina who was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer in March 2022, died Saturday, the program announced. He was 23.
“Tylee meant so much to so many and affected us in ways we’ll always be thankful for,” Carolina Football wrote in a statement on X. “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.”
“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.”
In loving memory of Tylee Craft 🩵 #TyleeStrongForever pic.twitter.com/ixaSZY0TzB
— Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) October 12, 2024
Craft, a graduate student from Sumter, S.C., missed his junior and senior seasons from 2022 to 2023 after he was diagnosed with stage four large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. UNC coach Mack Brown said last Saturday that Craft was in the hospital.
He played in 11 games at UNC — appearing in seven games as a wide receiver and on special teams as a freshman during the 2020 season. Craft was a four-star prospect out of Sumter High School.
During his junior season, Craft received the 2022 Disney Spirit Award on ESPN’s College Football Awards, which is given to the most inspirational figure in college football.
During Saturday’s loss to Georgia Tech, the Tar Heel honored Craft’s family on the field at Kenan Memorial Stadium.
Just like its football team, North Carolina’s men’s basketball program planned to honor Craft before the news of his passing Saturday. When the team came out for warmups before its Blue-White scrimmage at the Dean Smith Center, every player was wearing a “CRAFT 13” shirt. The program also held a moment of silence for Craft before Saturday’s scrimmage.
UNC honors WR Tylee Craft — who passed away Saturday after a long battle with cancer — before its Blue-White scrimmage. pic.twitter.com/XMYQYnEnTS
— Brendan Marks (@BrendanRMarks) October 12, 2024
News of Craft’s passing circulated through the arena in the build-up to the scrimmage, as UNC’s football game against Georgia Tech ended across the Chapel Hill campus.
The UNC athletics family has a long history with cancer.
Hubert Davis’ mother died from the disease when he was in high school, and her memory never left him. Former SportsCenter anchor and UNC alum Stuart Scott wrote his memoir about his long fight with the disease — for which he won the Jimmy V. Award for Perseverance at the 2014 ESPY’s — before he died in 2015. Former UNC All-American and radio broadcaster Eric Montross died in December after his cancer diagnosis, with the program honoring him for the rest of the season.
(Photo: Grant Halverson / Getty Images)
