Heat Stroke is the Cause of Death of a Kansas Community College Football Player

Heat stroke, that’s what took the life of 19-year-old Braeden Bradforth, of Neptune, New Jersey this summer on the Campus of Garden City Community College.

On August 1, after the first day of practice and just two days after Braeden moved to  from New Jersey to Kansas to play football for the Bruncbusters, an athletic trainer found him unconscious outside of his dorm room.  Braeden passed away later that same evening in a Wichita hospital.

The head coach at the time, Jeff Sims, who is the new head coach at Missouri Southern State University, previously said that emergency room doctors suspected that Braeden had a blood clot.

However, the autopsy report filed last week blamed the death on “exertional heat stroke,” defined as heat stroke caused by strenuous exercise. The autopsy report also noted that the 300 pound lineman was vomiting and had a history of asthma.

Garden City Community College administration officials are conducting an internal review into the circumstances that lead to Braeden’s death.

MSSU has released a statement about the tragic events surrounding Braeden’s death.

” Missouri Southern State University joins Garden City Community College in mourning the death of their student-athlete, Braeden Bradforth, in August. MSSU was aware of Bradforth’s death when then-GCCC head football coach, Jeff Sims, interviewed at Missouri Southern in October 2018. Coach Sims shared with MSSU his recollection of the circumstances surrounding Bradforth’s death, including the timeline and comments made by the attending physician. We believe this is a matter for Garden City Community College and the Bradforth family to resolve. Our hearts go out to the family and the Garden City community.”