LOS ANGELES, California, January 10. USC freshman water polo player Jon Walters died Wednesday of a heart attack at the age of 19, according to the Daily Trojan. Walters had been in a coma since Jan. 1 before having the fatal heart attack earlier this week.
Shortly after news broke of Walters’ death, USC releaseed the following statement:
USC men’s water polo and the Trojan Family was rocked today by the death of freshman Jon Walters. We send our deepest condolences out to his family and friends.
USC head water polo coach Jovan Vavic: “Jon was a great Trojan, and an outstanding young man from a wonderful family. He and his family were loved by all of us on the USC water polo team. I am deeply saddened, and I speak for our team in saying that this is a terrible loss of a friend and teammate. Our prayers go out to Jon’s family in hopes that they find comfort.”
As a first-year freshman 2-meter man, Jon Walters was a key contributor on USC’s 2013 NCAA championship men’s water polo team that won a sixth consecutive NCAA title in December. He scored 17 goals on the year, including two in the NCAA semifinal game and another two in the MPSF championship game, despite missing the middle part of the season with an elbow injury. He was from Newport Beach and attended Mater Dei High School, where he was an All-American and the 2012 CIF Player of the Year.
Daily Trojan article.