PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. — The thing that most stood out about Baba Agbaje, his high school coach said, was that everybody loved him.
"Every teacher he ever had, every person he ever had contact with, just thought 'this is a great human being.' Unselfish, loved life, always positive," Bunky Colvin told 11Alive about Agbaje, a recent former Mercer University soccer player who died after collapsing during a pickup game this week.
"Baba was a person that everybody cheered for, no matter what," Colvin said.
Colvin both coached and taught Agbaje at McIntosh High School in Peachtree City in his roles as the boys' soccer coach and an American government teacher.
The coach recalled when McIntosh won the state championship game, with Agbaje scoring two of the team's three goals.
"He walked off that field and ran over to the student section, and kids were embracing him. It was one of those things where it was his day," Colvin said. "We've lost a lot more than a soccer player, we've lost one of the best human beings I've ever known."
Words, Colvin said, couldn't adequately convey what kind of person Agbaje was or the kind of warmth he drew out of others.
"I don't think there was a person that Baba ever met that, within five minutes, didn't think 'this guy's gonna be my friend.' He just had this big beautiful smile, you knew that it was all coming from his heart, that he genuinely liked people," Colvin said.
Agbaje, a midfielder who played across three seasons for Mercer and was twice on the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll, was described by Colvin as an athlete who was "as fit and athletic as any person you would ever meet."
"The idea that he could have a situation like a cardiac arrest or something, at first it just didn't seem real," Colvin said. "I keep getting caught between remembering the great things about Baba and the reality that I won't get to see him accomplish even more in his life."
According to 11Alive's sister station in Macon, WMAZ, Agbaje had completed his eligibility with the soccer program last fall. No official cause of death has yet been determined, as an autopsy has not yet been performed.
The Mercer coach, Brad Ruzzo, echoed Colvin's sentiments.
“He was an incredible person, who embodied what it means to be a Mercer Bear. Everyone who knew Baba loved him and he was a blessing to coach," Ruzzo said.
One thing Colvin stressed was maintaining awareness about heart health and having AEDs present for physical activities, even pickup games. He also said more people should be trained in CPR and life-saving skills for unexpected emergencies that can arise.
"We can't take for granted just because someone is an elite athlete, a very healthy person, that something can't go wrong," he said.