Former Jeannette multi-sport athlete and current La Roche University pitcher Tre Lajuan Cunningham died on Sunday in motorcycle accident, the Westmoreland County coroner’s office confirmed to Pittsburgh Sports Now on Monday.
Cunningham, 20, lost control of his motorcycle on Route 130 in Penn Township around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday evening, according to police.
Cunningham was attempting to overtake a vehicle when it turned left, causing the bike to strike a guard rail. He was thrown from a bike and pronounced dead at the scene, Penn Township police chief Joel Otto told the Tribune-Review.
Cunningham played baseball, basketball and football for the Jayhawks before graduating in 2018. He was the 2018 Tribune-Review baseball player of the year after batting .600 and posting a 1.91 ERA as a pitcher. Cunningham was also the starting pitcher for the Jayhawks’ 2017 WPIAL baseball championship game victory, the school’s first.
At Division-III La Roche, Cunningham pitched in 11 games as a true freshman in 2019, posting a 1-3 record and a 5.02 ERA. He pitched in just one game as a sophomore in 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic shut down college sports for the remainder of the season.
He was also the Trib’s 2017-18 basketball player of the year after averaging 17.4 points per game a senior.
In football, Cunningham was a wide receiver, linebacker and kicker on Jeannette’s 2017 WPIAL and PIAA championship teams. He caught 30 passes for 466 yards, scored seven touchdowns and kicked four field goals and 55 extra points.
“Every parents worst nightmare is getting that phone call in the middle of the night,” Jeannette offensive coordinator Ryan Reitz posted on Twitter on Monday morning. “You were so talented, charismatic, and athletic. The entire Jayhawks community is devastated forever. We will be praying for your mom and dad.”
