Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Oregon State guard improving in hospital after collapsing in practice

baker

Jesse Skoubo/Corvallis Gazette-Times

Oregon State had a scary incident earlier this week when incoming freshman guard Chai Baker collapsed on Tuesday morning while participating in informal preseason drills.

The 6-foot-3 Baker, a native of Florida, was taken to the hospital and continues to improve according to a report from Gary Horowitz of the Statesmen Journal.

“He’s doing very well,” Steve Clark, Vice President of University Relations and Marketing at OSU said to Horowitz. “He’s off the ventilator, he’s breathing on his own, and he’s actually able to eat on his own now.”

With the losses of Roberto Nelson and Hallice Cooke this offseason, new Oregon State head coach Wayne Tinkle surely wanted to see how Baker would fare in the preseason to compete for backcourt playing time, but now the concern is just for the freshman to recover and get back on the court.

Tinkle visited Baker on Thursday night for what is being called, “a medical related heart incident” and Baker remains in the intensive care unit. Clark told Horowitz that Baker was expected to be moved out of ICU on Friday afternoon.

Hopefully Baker can recover from this and see the court quickly as Oregon State needs to see how he fares early on in the season.

Follow @phillipshoops