Former UH Basketball Player Reggie Chaney Died of Fentanyl Toxicity
Back on August 21, the college basketball world woke up to the news that former Houston Cougar Reggie Chaney, the 2022-23 American Athletic Conference Sixth Man of the Year, had died at the age of 23.
Now, an autopsy report that was released on Monday has confirmed that Chaney died from a fentanyl overdose, or “fentanyl toxicity,” as the Tarrant County Medical Examiner said in the report.
Chaney was a starter on the Cougars’ 2021 Final Four team and was set to take his talents overseas to play at the professional level. However, just days before he was scheduled to join the AE Psychiko — a professional basketball team in Greece — Chaney was found dead in an Arlington apartment.
According to a report, police were called to the apartment after a family friend found Chaney unresponsive in a bedroom.
After spending the 2018 and 2019 seasons with Arkansas, Chaney transferred to Houston, where he spent the final three years of his college career.
Over the course of his career, Chaney averaged 4.0 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, in 14.0 minutes per game over five seasons.
A former three-star PF out of Frisco, Texas, and formerly Tulsa, Oklahoma, Chaney was a member of the 2021-22 Houston Cougars squad that made a run to the Final Four under Kelvin Sampson.
“Two words that describe Reggie “Always Dependable,” former Houston teammate Justin Gorham wrote on Twitter. “No matter the situation yk Reg gonna give his 110%. Glad I got the chance to lace em up with him, without Reg we don’t accomplish half the things we did. Rest easy brother LOVE.”
Former Arkansas teammate Mason Jones also put together a memorial for Chaney on Twitter.
‘Pls give Reggie his flowers … if only y’all knew what he was really going through .. just a kid from Tulsa .. going to miss you brotha fr .. real life brotha, roommate and one of the realest guys you will ever meet !” Jones wrote.
From the outpouring of support for the Chaney family on Twitter, it’s easy to see that the former Cougar made quite the impact on those around him, and will certainly be missed.
