Student collapses and dies playing basketball at SC university, coroner says
A student at a university in South Carolina was playing basketball Sunday when he collapsed and died, according to the Orangeburg County Coroner’s Office.
Savion Brown, a 21-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, is the Claflin University student who was pronounced dead at MUSC Health Orangeburg hospital, Coroner Sean Fogle said Monday in a news release.
Brown, a senior computer science major at Claflin, was playing basketball at a campus gym when he collapsed, according to the release. It was not clear if Brown was playing a pick-up game, but he’s not listed on the Claflin men’s basketball team’s roster.
EMS responded to a 911 call and attempted life-saving treatment before taking Brown to the area hospital, the coroner’s office said.
No cause of death was announced, but Fogle said that an autopsy has been scheduled for later this week.
“Our sincere condolences go out to the family and friends of Mr. Brown and the Claflin University family as well,” Fogle said in the release. “Death of a family member is never an easy thing, but the impact is felt more when you have a young person as Mr. Brown that I’m certain had a bright future ahead of him.”
Claflin said it will make grief counselors available for members of the university community mourning Brown’s death.
“His presence will be greatly missed,” Claflin officials said on social media.
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This story was originally published October 27, 2025 at 1:50 PM.
