High School Sports

NC high school baseball coach collapses before team’s playoff game. What we know

Spring high school sports, inluding baseball, start this week.

File photo
Spring high school sports, inluding baseball, start this week. File photo ¬(R)¬© Royalty-Free/CORBIS
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways

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  • Samuel “Kasey” McMillen died before a playoff game Friday night.
  • McMillen passed out during pregame warmups and could not be revived at Burns on Friday.
  • The quarterfinal game was called off, and sources said it will be played Saturday.

A baseball coach at Stuart Cramer High School died before a playoff game Friday night.

Samuel “Kasey” McMillen, the school’s junior varsity coach, passed out during pregame warmups before Stuart Cramer’s state quarterfinal game at Burns on Friday, and he was unable to be revived.

McMillen was a teacher at Mount Holly Middle School.

The game was called off. According to sources on the field, the game will be played Saturday.

“The kids are pretty broken up,” a source told The Observer.

The source said that counselors were en route to the site to talk to the players from both teams.

Stuart Cramer (21-5) has won five straight games. Burns (22-3) is on a 12-game win streak.

Cramer is enjoying the best season in the school’s 12-year history.

This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 9:38 PM with the headline "NC high school baseball coach collapses before team’s playoff game. What we know."

Langston Wertz Jr.
The Charlotte Observer
Langston Wertz Jr. is an award-winning sports journalist who has worked at the Observer since 1988. He’s covered everything from Final Fours and NFL to video games and Britney Spears. Wertz -- a West Charlotte High and UNC grad -- is the rare person who can answer “Charlotte,” when you ask, “What city are you from.” Support my work with a digital subscription
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