Tuesday 21 June 2022 05:58 PM Former NBA forward and Purdue star Caleb Swanigan dies at 25 trends now Former NBA forward and Purdue star Caleb Swanigan dies at 25 two years after his final game with Portland: 'The world lost a gentle soul last night' Former NBA forward and Purdue standout Caleb Swanigan has died at 25 Purdue's athletic department announced Swanigan's death without any details The Allen County (Indiana) Coroner’s Office said he died of 'natural' causes Swanigan parlayed a brilliant sophomore season at Purdue into Big Ten Player of the Year honors and a first-team consensus All-American selection in 2017 That June he was taken by the Blazers with the 26th-overall pick of the NBA Draft The popular player fell out of the NBA in 2020 after battling some weight issues By Alex Raskin Sports News Editor For Dailymail.com Published: 16:18 BST, 21 June 2022 | Updated: 17:50 BST, 21 June 2022 17 shares 20 Viewcomments Former NBA forward and Purdue standout Caleb Swanigan has died at 25, the Boilermakers have announced. The Allen County (Indiana) Coroner’s Office told Fort Wayne's WANE-TV that Swanigan died of natural causes. Further details of Swanigan's death have not yet been made public and the coroner's office did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for more information. He had been out of the NBA since the spring of 2020, when he had a second stint with the Portland Trail Blazers. 'Our thoughts and prayers to Caleb Swanigan's family and friends,' read a tweet from Purdue's athletic department. 'The world lost a gentle soul last night.' 'The Purdue basketball family is deeply saddened and devastated at the loss of Caleb Swanigan,' Purdue coach Matt Painter said in a statement. 'Caleb was a very thoughtful individual and a gentle soul who excelled both on and off the court. He made a huge difference in everyone's lives that he touched and he will be greatly missed.' Ex-NBA forward and Purdue standout Caleb Swanigan has died at 25, the school announced The Purdue men's basketball program announced the news Monday, calling him a 'gentle soul' Swanigan had two separate stints with the Portland Trail Blazers before falling out of the NBA Swanigan parlayed a brilliant sophomore season at Purdue into Big Ten Player of the Year honors and a first-team consensus All-American selection in 2017. That June he was taken by the Blazers with the 26th-overall pick of the NBA Draft. Swanigan battled weight issues over parts of two seasons with the Blazers and Sacramento Kings. He had been a prized recruit coming out of Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Swanigan was named Indiana's Mr. Basketball in 2015 as the top men's player in the state. Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic, a former teammate of Swanigan's, offered his condolences on Twitter: 'My thoughts and prayers to Caleb Swanigan's family.' 'Heartbroken hearing Caleb Swanigan passed away,' tweeted a former Kings intern named Nate Macay. 'He gave away so many tickets to local groups in the Sacramento area when he played here and always remember how excited families would be whenever I gave them his cheer cards at the games when I interned for the team. RIP Caleb.' Off the court, Swanigan had become interested in music and was rapping under the name 'Slyy5jackk.' A 2021 release was titled 'Thoughts/THOTS' and he was reportedly preparing to put out another album. A former Kings intern named Nate Macay remembered Swanigan for providing tickets to local groups in the Sacramento area: '[I] always remember how excited families would be' Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility