Northern Iowa football player Parker Sutherland dies: 'We are devastated'

Northern Iowa freshman soccer participant Parker Sutherland died Saturday morning, the college introduced. Sutherland was 18 years outdated.

“I’m heartbroken,” UNI coach Todd Stepsis mentioned in a press release. “No phrases can categorical my condolences to (Sutherland’s household) Adam, Jill and Georgia.”

It’s unclear how Sutherland died, and the college declined to launch particulars. At 7:15 a.m. Thursday, the Cedar Falls public security, fireplace and emergency medical providers had been referred to as to the soccer advanced. In line with their name log, the rationale was categorized as “unconscious/fainting/non trauma.”

Sutherland, a 6-foot-6 tight finish, performed in 4 video games as a real freshman final fall for the Panthers. He was a three-sport athlete at Metropolis Excessive College in Iowa Metropolis, Iowa, the place he was named second-team all-state in 2024.

“We’re devastated — simply devastated,” UNI athletic director Megan Franklin mentioned in a press release.

UNI mourns the passing of soccer student-athlete Parker Sutherland

📰 https://t.co/e2ATEa5haG#EverLoyal | #1UNI pic.twitter.com/nMwwcje9eu

— UNI Soccer (@UNIFootball) February 14, 2026

Sutherland’s dying marks the second current tragedy impacting faculty athletics in Iowa. On Wednesday, Iowa Lakes Neighborhood School baseball participant Carter “Tater” Johnson, 19, was killed and 32 different gamers and workers members had been injured when their crew bus veered off a two-lane freeway in north-central Iowa. Johnson, who was from Speedy Metropolis, S.D., died on the scene after the bus flipped on its facet.