Former Basketball Player at University of California Galen Hill He passed away at the age of 22, the school confirmed early Wednesday morning.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin said in a statement Hill’s death was “heartbreaking” and said the former Bruins striker “was a kind-hearted young man with a wonderful smile who left us too soon.”
Hill’s family said in an Instagram post that they learned of his death recently after Hill went missing in Costa Rica, but did not reveal further details.
“We know Galen has played a role in the lives of so many people,” his family wrote in an Instagram post. “We also acknowledge the role so many of you have played in it. As we try to get through this devastating time in our lives, we ask that you please give us time to grieve.”
Josh Giles coach Hill at Centennial High School in Corona, California, For the Los Angeles Times Anne Hill was “a great basketball player, but I loved him as a person.”
“I am so stunned that I have no emotion at the moment,” said Giles, who also told The Times he had been in contact with the Hill family. “Hearing something like that is next-level devastating.”
The 6-foot-10 Hill played parts of three seasons at UCLA before retiring after the 2020-21 season, citing anxiety and depression in the A video on Instagram announcing his decision. He left the team in February 2021 but didn’t talk about his situation until April, saying he didn’t want to be distracted from Bruins’ race to the fourth final.
“I just had to get away from myself because the headspace I was in was hurting the team,” Hill said in the video. “So I didn’t want to stop them from achieving their goals either.”
Hill was one of three UCLA players, along with LiAngelo Ball and Cody Riley, who was arrested in China for theft in November 2017. He was suspended for the 2017-18 season but returned to the program the following season and appeared in 77 games during his career. With the Bruins, he averages 6.5 points and 6.4 rebounds.
