Elijah Olaniyi, a former college basketball player and Newark, New Jersey, native who spent time with Stony Brook and Miami during his collegiate career, died Thursday following a lengthy battle with brain cancer, Stony Brook announced.
He was 26 years old.
“We are completely shattered by the news of Elijah’s passing,” Stony Brook said in a statement, according to The Statesman. “Not only was Elijah a beloved member of our Seawolves family, he was a son, brother and friend who gave so much of himself to so many. Throughout his battle with cancer, he displayed the same competitiveness and courage that he displayed on the basketball court.
“Although Elijah’s brave fight has peacefully come to an end, his legacy and the memories he left behind will endure forever.”
game for Stony Brook. AP
Olaniyi, after starring at Newark East Side High School and being recruited as a 6-foot-5 guard, spent three years playing at Stony Brook before transferring to join the Hurricanes’ program.
He then returned to the Seawolves for the 2021-22 campaign.
But he was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor in November 2023, according to The Statesman in a story published last year, and Olaniyi found out he actually had brain cancer since his final year at Stony Brook.
Olaniyi underwent three December 2023 surgeries in New York City to remove 95 percent of the tumor, according to The Statesman, but in an interview with the outlet, he expressed a willingness to venture back into basketball again if it followed a full recovery.
Following his final season in 2021-22, he attempted to play overseas, but a battle with mental health prevented him from finding opportunities, the outlet added.
He appeared in 98 games with Stony Brook across his four seasons with the program and started 68, averaging 12.2 points per game — and a career-best 18 during the 2019-20 campaign.
During his lone season with the Hurricanes, he started 18 games — and appeared in 21 — while averaging 10.5 points per game, and after his final season with Stony Brook, he trained in Miami with NBA players before attempting to build a career overseas, according to The Statesman.
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