Connors State forward Ethan Dietz died on Tuesday in Oklahoma after a college basketball game. The 19-year-old tragically passed away in the hospital just three days after he suffered a blow to the head.
An investigation is underway.
Based only on limited public information at this time, it appears as though the college basketball staff at Connors State did not properly attend to an injured player. The Dietz family may choose to pursue legal action regardless of the outcome of the investigation.
Ethan Dietz died on Tuesday morning.
Connors State College is a two-year public community college located in Warner and Muskogee, Oklahoma with a total enrollment of ~3,000 students. Dietz was a team captain for the Cowboys basketball program this season.
Born Sept. 12 2005, the Arkansas-native joined the team as a true freshman last year. Connors State won the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference in 2024-25, as well as the Region 2 Tournament en route to the NJCAA National Final.
Dietz was averaging 11.0 points and ~9.0 per game through the first eight games of his sophomore season. The Cowboys started the year at 6-2.
Their upcoming games against SAU Tech and Grayson are canceled after the death of their star forward.
The school announced his passing on Tuesday morning.
“The Cowboy family has suffered an unimaginable loss. As you know, sophomore Ethan Dietz was injured during a men’s basketball game on Saturday. He passed away this morning, November 25. Ethan exemplified what it means to be a Cowboy, to value hard work and being part of a team. While the team and the Cowboy community are processing our own grief, our hearts go out to his family and friends.
Help is available to our students, faculty, and staff if they need to talk to someone […]
“Ethan’s loss reminds us all how precious life is and how much those around us impact our lives. As we move through this loss together as a community, let’s be inspired by Ethan’s spirit, friendship and love.”
A vigil in Dietz’s honor will be held on Monday.
The Connors State basketball program is under investigation.
Muskogee EMS responded to an “unresponsive person” call at the Connors State campus at 9:16 p.m. on Saturday after a Cowboys road game. The patient was taken under a “full emergency status,” with lights and sirens, to Tulsa hospital. It was the only call to which Muskogee EMS responded on the campus that night.
Video provided by the Grayson College livestream provides a better understanding of the incident that involved Ethan Dietz. He played nearly every minute of the first half.
However, the 6-foot-8 forward took an elbow to the head early in the second half and showed immediate discomfort. You can see in the video that his teammate had to help him off of the court.
Dietz did come out of the game after the accidental blow to the head. The Connors State staff allowed him to check back in just two minutes later.
There are multiple instances where he can be seen grabbing at his head as the game continued, at one point trying to shake off the cobwebs. Dietz eventually got the attention of coaches to let them know that something was severely wrong with approximately 12 minutes left in the second half.
Only then does the staff take him out of the game.
From that point forward, Dietz spent the rest of the half on the end of the bench. He did not leave the bench. Not even to join the team huddle during timeouts.
Coaches and players left the court after the game but Dietz was still on the bench with a towel over his head. One of his teammates eventually helped him back to the locker room.
— – (@Spicoli_____) November 28, 2025
The drive from Grayson College back to Connors State is approximately two and a half hours. It is believed, but not yet confirmed, that Dietz was the unresponsive person to which Muskogee EMS responded upon his return back to campus. An investigation is underway. It could get litigious.