Reed Peters, head baseball coach at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, remembers the last conversation he had with his student Will Wentworth the day before his death last month.
The college’s baseball department last Thursday posted to social media that Wentworth, who was on the baseball team, had died. The cause of death for the young athlete has not been officially released.
Coach Peters said Wentworth was a left-handed pitcher and had redshirted last year, meaning he did not play but was figured to be a major contributor to the team this year.
Peters said his last conversation with Wentworth was the day before the student died.
“You are a coach’s dream,” Peters told Wentworth during an individual meeting. “You’re always smiling, always the player that goes above and beyond, always the first to do things without being told, putting the team before yourself, a great teammate, a great student, and an unbelievable person.”
A heroic act
Peters described the baseball player as someone who was well-loved and recalled a time when Wentworth helped save a student’s life on campus.
According to the baseball coach, during Wentworth’s first semester at Delta College, he was attending class when another student began to feel ill and could not breathe. Peters said Wentworth jumped out of his seat and gave the student CPR, which probably saved their life.
Prior to attending Delta College, Wentworth graduated from Granada High School in Livermore, where he also played baseball.
Wentworth is not the only student athlete from Delta College who has died this year.
In October, Makaela Crespin, a resident of Stockton and a women’s polo team member, was killed in a traffic collision in the city.
A service for Wentworth is scheduled Saturday, Dec. 9, at the Presbyterian Church in Livermore at 11 a.m.
Victoria Franco is a reporter based in Stockton covering San Joaquin County for Bay City News Foundation and its nonprofit news site Local News Matters. She is a Report for America corps member.
