High School

Former Arkansas High School Basketball Star Ethan Dietz Dies Following NJCAA Game Injury in Texas

Connors State College sophomore forward suffered fatal injury in Saturday loss at Grayson College

Levi Payton

Ethan Dietz helped Vilonia (Arkansas) High School's basketball team to a 20-8 record and a trip to the second round of the AHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament during the 2023-2024 season.
Ethan Dietz helped Vilonia (Arkansas) High School's basketball team to a 20-8 record and a trip to the second round of the AHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament during the 2023-2024 season. / courtesy Vilonia Basketball

Connors State College announced Tuesday that sophomore forward Ethan Dietz died from head injuries he suffered during the second half of a game last weekend in Texas.

Dietz, a 6-foot-8 power forward from Conway, Arkansas, was injured during a 69-64 loss at Grayson College in Denison, Texas on Saturday, Nov. 22. He played 20 minutes in the game, scoring 6 points on 3-of-5 shooting with 4 rebounds, an assist and a block before the injury occurred.

Connors State cancelled its scheduled game Wednesday against Southern Arkansas University Tech, a program that had previously recruited and offered Dietz coming out of Vilonia High.

Connors State Remembers Dietz in Wake of His Death

“Ethan exemplified what it means to be a Cowboy, to value hard work and being part of a team,” Connors State said in a statement. “While the team and the Cowboy community are processing our own grief, our hearts go out to his family and friends.”

Athletic director and head coach Bill Muse also reflected on Dietz’s impact on the program.

“Ethan Dietz was the kind of player a coach always hopes for,” Muse said in a statement. “He was talented athletically and academically and he understood the importance of hard work. If you ever saw him smile, you knew he was all heart.

"He was a person of character as well as a great teammate," Muse continued. "Our hearts and prayers continue to be with Ethan’s family, friends and our team as we process this heartbreaking loss.”

Cowboys Cancel Games in Remembrance of Fallen Star

Connors State canceled several men’s and women’s basketball games following Dietz’s death. The college also plans to hold a vigil Monday on its Warner campus to honor him.

Dietz had emerged as a reliable scorer early in his sophomore season, averaging 11 points across the Cowboys’ first eight games for the NJCAA Division I program. He had grown into a 6-foot-8 power forward at Connors State after playing as a 6-foot-7 power forward and center at Vilonia, where he only seemed to get better each season.

Ethan Dietz Was a High School Standout

Before arriving at Connors State, Dietz was a standout at Vilonia High School. As a senior, he averaged 10.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 52.5% from the floor and 31.6% from 3-point range. His senior year included a 24-point, 10-rebound performance in a 68-58 win at Maumelle on Dec. 15, 2023, when he helped erase an early 18-9 deficit and hit four 3-pointers during the rally.

Dietz also helped guide Vilonia to a 20-8 finish in 2023-24. The Eagles reached the Arkansas 5A state tournament as the No. 13 seed, rolling past West Memphis 70-43 in the first round before falling to Lake Hamilton in the second.

As a junior, he put up 8.7 points and 6 rebounds per game while shooting 51.2% overall and 39.4% from deep. He earned Arkansas 5A all-conference honors during his time at Vilonia.

Before committing to Connors State, Dietz considered offers from Connors State, Shawnee Saint College and SAU Tech.

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Levi Payton
LEVI PAYTON

Levi’s sports journalism career began in 2005. A Missouri native, he’s won multiple Press Association awards for feature writing and has served as a writer and editor covering high school sports as well as working beats in professional baseball, NCAA football, basketball, baseball and soccer. If you have a good story, he’d love to tell it.

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