Reggie Chaney, former Houston Cougars men’s basketball player, dies at 23

Reggie Chaney, a forward on the Houston men’s basketball team that reached the Final Four in 2021, has died, the university said Tuesday.

He was 23.

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson called Chaney the “ultimate teammate” and the epitome of “Cougar basketball culture.” Sampson added that Chaney was due to leave Aug. 28, to begin a professional career in Greece.

In another statement on social media, university chancellor Renu Khator said “the news (of Chaney’s death) has left us with sad and heavy hearts.”

Chaney was found dead Monday after a family friend discovered him unresponsive in a bedroom at an apartment in Arlington, Texas, police spokesperson Tim Ciesco told the Houston Chronicle. Chaney was pronounced dead at the scene. Foul play is not suspected, although an investigation is ongoing, Ciesco told the Chronicle.

Chaney, a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, played his first two seasons at Arkansas before finishing his college career with three years at Houston. A 6-foot-8 forward, he appeared in 32 games during the 2020-21 season and started in Houston’s Final Four loss to eventual champion Baylor, collecting six points and two rebounds in 17 minutes.

Last season, he was named the American Athletic Conference’s Sixth Man of the Year for a Houston team that earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament before falling in the Sweet 16.