A former Stillman College baseball player was killed by the deadly tornado that came through Tuscaloosa Wednesday afternoon.

At an assembly Friday at 4 p.m. in Birthright Auditorium on Stillman’s campus, Stillman College President Ernest McNealey announced that senior William Chase Stevens, known to his friends as Will, “lost his life.”

“He was a great young man,” said Donny Crawford, Stevens’ baseball coach. “Very quiet kid that would do anything for you at any time, worked his butt off trying to get better every day, just that kind of person that all the players liked.”

Stevens, of Priceville, Ala., was scheduled to graduate at the commencement ceremony May 7.

“It’s just hard to believe,” Crawford said. “It’s just you get close to these guys and they’re like your own because you watch them grow up and you know they’re close to getting their degree and going on with their lives. Then suddenly they don’t have one.”

If you have information about memorial services or if you are a friend or family member who would like to be quoted about William Stevens, email [email protected]. If you have a photo of Stevens you would like to see included, email the address listed above.