Ryan Duffy Obituary- The Mississippi State baseball player Ryan Duffy has sadly passed away at age 37. Duffy graduated from Barron Collier High School and received a scholarship to attend Mississippi State. 

Duffy played as a catcher and was one of the best players during his high school days. He earned all-county and All-Southwest Florida All-Star Team honors and was named the Team MVP.

But Ryan couldn’t join the ranks of professional players because of a diving accident in 2010. A trip that was supposed to be memorable for 24-year-old Ryan turned into a nightmare. 

The incident left him paralyzed from the neck below. In 2012, Ryan made a public appearance during a fundraiser, and his family, including his parents, Kevin and Cathy, were supportive in his road to recovery. Ryan also has a brother named Nick. 

Mississippi State Ryan Duffy Obituary And Death Cause 

The former baseball player Ryan Duffy’s passing was announced on December 19 by Mississippi State Baseball’s Facebook page. Ryan’s family hasn’t given any details of his demise. 

Several of his fans took to the comment section of the Facebook post to pay their respect. Many recalled the time they saw Ryan take the baseball field by storm. 

One well-wisher wrote, “He brought so much fun to each game at State. He was one of a kind.” They also paid tribute to the Duffy family. 

But a few of his fans on the X (formerly Twitter) speculated his death might be linked to his accident in 2010. In 2010, Ryan had a diving accident that caused the baseball player to be paralyzed from the neck down. 

Ryan was enjoying his vacation at Key West Hotel when the accident happened. He jumped off a dock and into the Atlantic Ocean, but the water was too shallow, causing him to break his neck.

Duffy damaged six vertebrae, breaking three and fracturing three, in the accident. At the time, the news reported that Duffy was healing at Joe DiMaggio Hospital in Miami. 

A year after the accident, it was reported that Ryan was suing the Key West Hotel as the general manager didn’t warn people about the dangerously shallow, turbid waters of the hotel’s ‘dimly lit’ pier.

In 2012, Ryan attended a fundraiser organized for research on a device that could help Duffy breathe off the ventilators. Duffy was strapped to the wheelchair and needed assistance while eating.

Remembering The Catcher’s Career 

A former standout player at Barron Collier High School, Duffy was named the Daily News’ 2005 Baseball Athlete of the Year. Duffy received the Bright Futures Scholarship and attended Mississippi State University. 

At Mississippi, Ryan sat out his first campaign as a redshirt. In 2007, he played five games for the University and made his collegiate debut against South Carolina. 

In 2008, he appeared in 42 of 56 games and hit .306 with seven home runs and 25 RBI. Duffy became the primary catcher, and later that year, he also played summer league baseball for the DuPage County Dragons.

In his fourth year, Ryan started in 27 games and posted a .339 batting average, a career-high for him, and also set career-highs of 25 runs scored, 42 hits, 10 home runs, and 33 RBI. 

After the accident, Ryan’s dream of becoming a professional baseball player ended. But as seen in the tributes, Duffy was an impactful player, so much so that many of his fans remember his plays. 

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