College football player dies after medical emergency Saturday, shortly after scoring TD
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Awful news to pass along from the state of Missouri. A college football player died Saturday after suffering a medical emergency.
William Jewell College, a Division II school in Missouri, announced the passing of MicahJo Barnett. A running back, Barnett had scored a touchdown in the game against Fort Lewis College on a 1-yard run with 5:15 remaining in the 1st quarter.
Per ESPN News Services, police in Liberty, Missouri, issued a statement that said emergency officials at the game attended to a player about 20 minutes after kickoff. Barnett was transported by ambulance to a local hospital.
Forever a Cardinal 💔
— William Jewell Athletics (@JewellCardinals) August 29, 2026
William Jewell & the Liberty community mourn the passing of junior MicahJo Barnett.
Our thoughts & prayers are with MicahJo’s family, teammates, friends, & coaches.
A vigil will be held tonight on the Jewell quad at 8 p.m. in honor of MicahJo & family. pic.twitter.com/SXAXSGcdD4
Barnett was in his junior season. A native of Liberty, Missouri, he prepped at Liberty North, leading the program to a state championship in his senior season and earning All-Conference and All-State honors.
“At this point, it’s not really thinking about the [rest of the] season. This is bigger than football,” sophomore wide receiver Kaleb Mays said, per ESPN. “He was bigger than football.”
William Jewell College held a vigil on campus Saturday.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaign of Fred Taylor.
