The Sumter native and UNC football player was remembered as a fighter until his final days

SUMTER, SC (WIS) – Coaches and family remember Sumter native Tylee Craft as a fighter until his life ended this weekend.

The college football player from North Carolina never had a chance to finish his college career and died after battling cancer.

Tylee Craft graduated from Sumter High School and later worked as a wide receiver at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

After battling the rare form of lung cancer for more than two years, his battle ended on Saturday, October 12, 2024.

His life, legacy and battle with cancer are now leaving their mark on the Sumter community, both on and off the field.

“Tylee Craft was one of them,” said Mark Barnes, head coach of the Sumter High School football team. “He was different from other people, and that’s the part I admire most about him.”

Craft was born on October 1, 2001 with an unwavering love for sports. He grew up playing football and basketball and became a standout player on the football field for the Sumter High School Gamecocks.

Even when he was young, his mother, September Craft, said he always felt the urge to compete.

“I ran track and raced and beat them for years,” Craft said. “Tylee was convinced he was going to beat me, and then one day he just beat me.”

September said Tylee was quiet growing up but led by example and let his play speak for itself.

Barnes said Craft behaved that way, not just as a star wide receiver for the Sumter High Gamecocks, but also in his life.

“I have been a head coach for 36 years now. There’s no one who played for me that I’m more proud of than Tylee Craft, the type of leadership he showed and the will he had to fight,” Barnes said.

The fight he brought to the field during his time as a Sumter High Gamecock set the stage for him to play football at UNC. The 6-foot-4, 4-star prospect recorded 59 catches for 993 yards and 11 touchdowns in his junior and senior seasons.

In his junior year, Craft led the football team to a 10-1 record, making it to the second round of the Class 5A state playoffs.

During his first and second seasons with the Tarheels, Craft appeared in 11 games at wide receiver and special teams.

After being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer on March 14, 2022, Craft at one point faced his biggest off-field battle yet. The illness would stop him from playing, but not from fighting.

“When the doctor came in and said it was cancer and I think it was stage four, I was the one who burst into tears,” September said. “He pats me and tells me everything will be okay; Everything will be fine. He just kept fighting. His body was strong”

Craft continued to fight for more than two years after the diagnosis.

While he continues to be honored at UNC, his drive continues to inspire many back home in Sumter that they can do anything they put their minds to.

“He was ahead of his years with the way he carried himself; the manners he had,” said Ly’Quan McCray, one of Tylee’s former AAU basketball coaches. “To live as he lived; He helped me more than I helped him.”

That’s why Tylee’s brother Taykell McCray says he looks up to his younger brother.

He remembers growing up competing against Craft and says it continues to inspire him every day.

“He inspired me as much as anyone else,” McCray said. “He’s my little brother, but I also looked up to him because of the person he was; he was my role model.”

Craft won the 2023 Disney Spirit Award and was named to the Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Team.

In 2024, UNC honored Craft at its Cancer Awareness game against Georgia Tech.

Although the Tarheels lost 41-34, Tylee’s teammate JJ Jones scored a touchdown wearing Tylee’s number 13 jersey on Saturday.

UNC will continue to honor Craft and his legacy for the foreseeable future.

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