Rossview athlete Cam Ward, 17, dies after collapsing during pickup basketball game

Rossview senior athlete Cam Ward died Friday night after he collapsed while playing pickup basketball.

He was rushed to Tennova Healthcare hospital but later died, according to Rossview basketball coach Johnny Jackson.

Ward, 17, was playing in a pickup basketball game with several Rossview teammates at around 6 p.m. in the Cumberland Heights area. He collapsed while jogging back on defense. Friends and teammates immediately called 9-1-1, Jackson said.

Jackson was informed of what happened minutes after teammates called 9-1-1, but he did not know the cause of death.

Jackson contacted Ward's family, including his mother, who traveled back from a trip in Gatlinburg and brother, Messiah, who plays for Vol State Community College, and played at Rossview with Cam.

"When they got Cam out of the ambulance, they were still working on him," said Jackson, who was already at the hospital when Ward arrived. "They did all they could to revive him, but ..."

Ward's grandparents arrived not long after Jackson and Rossview football coach Todd Hood got to Tennova late Friday.

There will be a vigil at 8 p.m. Saturday at Rossview High School.

"Cam loved life," Jackson said. "When he came into my office every day he lit up the room and we always ended our discussions with a fist-bump and 'I love you'. He wasn't afraid to say that to an adult and he was such a great young man."

Ward, 17, played one season of football for Hood, but he played four years of basketball under Jackson. The 6-foot-1 senior guard helped Rossview advance to the program's first Class 4A state basketball tournament this season. He had 16 points in the Hawks' quarterfinal win over Morristown East and 14 points in Rossview's state semifinal loss to eventual champion Independence. He averaged 13.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.7 steals this season.

He was named District 13-4A MVP in 2023 while being named to the Leaf-Chronicle All Area team that season.

Jackson said he spent all night trying make sense of what happened while consoling Ward's family and his players.

"Cam signified everything that our program and our school thrives to be," Jackson said. "As a coach, you're like a father to these kids and this is like losing a son. I never dreamt about going through something like this. Right now, it's about being there for his family, first and then consoling his friends and all of his teammates."

Reach sports writer George Robinson at georgerobinson@theleafchronicle.com and on the X platform (formerly Twitter) @Cville_Sports.