Houston college basketball star dies at 23

Reggie Chaney was a member of the 2023 squad from the University of Houston that made it to the Final Four.

According to several sources, Chaney, a former basketball player for the University of Houston, passed away suddenly on Monday at the age of 23.

The University of Houston Men's Basketball team posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) that they were "heartbroken by the passing of forward Reggie Chaney."

Chaney will be "deeply missed by all that knew and loved him," the school stated in a statement.

His cause of death hasn't been disclosed, unfortunately.

To pay for Chaney's funeral expenses, a GoFundMe fundraising page has been created.

Reggie Chaney was a dominant figure on and off the court. He entered this world on September 6, 1999, and unexpectedly passed away on August 21, 2023. According to the page's description, the GoFundMe was established with his mother Mikki's consent to cover unforeseen costs that "no mother should have to worry about in this time of unimaginable grief."

According to the description, all contributions from the campaign will go "directly to Reggie's immediate family."

On social media, former teammates and coaches have already started responding to Chaney's passing.

In a blog post on X, Houston sports writer Chancellor Johnson stated, "Just to speak to who Reggie Chaney was as a person and as a player, here was Kelvin Sampson last October: 'If I told Reggie to run through a brick wall, he would say, 'Coach can I get a running start'."

Renu Khator, the president of the University of Houston, wrote on the social media platform X that the "Cougar family mourns the loss of Reggie Chaney, the giant among giants of Houston basketball... We have sad and heavy emotions as a result of the news.

After playing for the Arkansas Razorbacks for two seasons, Chaney moved to Houston.

The head coach of Arkansas' men's basketball team, Eric Musselman, wrote in a post on X that the team was "devastated" to learn of Reggie Chaney's passing. He was adored by his teammates and worked tirelessly. Our sympathies and thoughts are with his family.

Chaney spent three seasons with the Houston Cougars and was honored as the American Athletic Conference's 2023 Sixth Man of the Year.

He was prepared to play for the professional team AE Psychiko in Greece, according to the Houston Chronicle.