Who was Lauren Bernett? Tributes pour in as JMU softball star dies aged 20

James Madison University announced the death of the university's softball player, Lauren Bernett, on Tuesday, April 26. While no cause of death has been revealed yet, it has been disclosed that the student was 20 years old.

Later, JMU President Jonathan Alger mentioned:

"Our hearts are aching, hearing the news of the loss of one of our student-athletes. Lauren Bernett was a high-achieving member of our softball team and a great ambassador of JMU and our athletics program. She was a key member of our 2021 Women's College World Series team as a freshman catcher last year."

Following Bernett's demise, JMU announced the cancelation of a doubleheader on Wednesday against Longwood.

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What is known about late JMU softball player Lauren Bernett?

While not much is known about the JMU softball player's death, Lauren Bernett played as a catcher at her university. According to her profile at the university, the 20-year-old was a native of McDonald, Pittsburg. She was born to Scott and Kim Bernett and had two sisters and two brothers.

According to JMU Sports, Bernett's mother, Kim, was also a softball player and was involved with the sport at Washington and Jefferson College.

As per her records at JMU, Bernett had graduated high school from South Fayette in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. At JMU, Lauren Bernett had plans to major in biology while having a minor in pre-veterinary science. This insinuated her interest in pursuing veterinary sciences for further higher studies. She was also a member of the National Honor Society.

Last year, Bernett helped her team reach the Women's College World Series for the first time. The JMU softball team had even beaten Oklahoma at the sports' inter-college game. As per Reuters:

"Bernett was named the CAA Player of the Week after batting .788 (7-for-9) with seven RBIs and four runs during a three-game weekend sweep of Drexel. On April 16, she tied a single-game JMU record with seven RBIs in a game against College of Charleston."

Meanwhile, the late Bernett had 18 putouts against Liberty last year, making it the highest of the season. She was also a part of the CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll and the Dean's list at JMU in 2020.

Similarly, prior to her contributions to JMU sports, Bernett was also the TCS East Coast Summer Nationals Runner-Up in 2018.