Star college athlete died while saving his little brother

On Monday, police recovered the body of 18-year old Andre Derouen, Jr., a student athlete at Galveston College in Galveston, Texas from the League City Detention pond.

Kia Morgan-Smith

Mar 27, 2018

Andre Derouen Jr thegrio.com — Andre Derouen Jr died while saving his little brother. (Courtesy of Twitter)

A college baseball player died doing a heroic act of saving his little brother from drowning on Friday.

On Monday, police recovered the body of 18-year old Andre Derouen, Jr., a student athlete at Galveston College in Galveston, Texas from the League City Detention pond. His friends reported that he swam into the water to save his little brother who was trapped, Chron.com reports.

Derouen, Jr. was able to swim well enough to save his brother, but not himself after going under the water. Unfortunately, he never resurfaced.

Derouen, Jr. was a beloved played for the school’s Whitecaps baseball team at Hitchcock High School and graduated just last year.

“Andre brought so much joy to everyone around him,” said Chris Joblin, head coach of the Whitecaps. “He will be missed by everyone who knew him.”

Hitchcock football coach Craig Smith had similar sentiments and said that Derouen, Jr.’s death leaves a profound loss not just on their team, but on the entire school community.

“We are just devastated by the news and he was a great athlete for us,” said Smith. “He was loved by everyone. It’s just really horrible.”

Derouen, Jr. was a prolific athlete, having played both football and baseball for Hitchcock High. He was also named Hitchcock ISD’s most valuable defensive baseball player his senior year and he graduated in 2017.

Police do not believe foul play played a part in this tragic accident.

According to his obituary in the Galveston Daily News, Derouen, Jr. will be laid to rest on Friday, March 30 at Hayes Grace Memorial Park in Hitchcock.