Family, friends and former teammates are mourning the accidental death of former BYU basketball player Jake Shoff, who was a “giant in every sense of the word,” according to his brother-in-law, former BYU football player and sports radio personality Ben Criddle.
Shoff, 46, leaves behind his wife, Emily, and four sons: Zach, Brady, Grant and Max. The family resides in South Jordan.
Shoff died after a crash on Interstate-15 near Point of the Mountain on Thursday, a crash that closed multiple lanes of northbound traffic for several hours, according to the Utah Highway Patrol. The UHP reported that the bronze Mercedes G63 Shoff was driving “veered to the left” for an “unknown reason” and struck a concrete barrier in the median of the highway before rolling to its side.
“A medical emergency is currently being suspected as a contributing factor to the crash,” the police report said.
As news of Shoff’s passing began hitting social media websites late Thursday, former teammates and coaches, family members and neighbors expressed disbelief over the 6-foot-9 man’s sudden passing, and also paid tribute to one of the more popular BYU basketball players of the past 25 years.
“Our world has been flipped upside down,” Criddle wrote on social media. “We are reeling and devastated. No words can describe the void we are all experiencing right now.”
Shoff grew up in Davis County, but graduated from American Fork High in Utah County before beginning his college basketball career at Weber State University in Ogden, where he averaged 7.4 points and a team-high 6.0 rebounds his sophomore season.
After his freshman season at Weber State, he served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Honduras.
He played for BYU from 2001-04 and was known for his physical play, touch around the rim, and an ever-present headband. Perhaps his finest moment came during an 89-88 win over UNLV in Las Vegas in 2004, BYU basketball historian Robby McCombs noted on X. He had eight rebounds and four points in 22 minutes in that intense game at Thomas & Mack Center.
In all, Shoff appeared in 57 games and helped BYU make back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances during his time in Provo. He scored a career-high 15 points in a win over Pepperdine in the 2002-03 season, going 6 of 6 from the field.
During his senior season in 2003-04, Shoff played 10 or more minutes in 19 games, and helped the Cougars finish the regular season on an eight-game winning streak. He shot better than 75% from the field during that run.
Shoff was in the news in 2007 when wasps nearly took his life while on a family vacation in Kauai, Hawaii. Shoff’s kayak veered into some brush along a riverbank and hit a wasp’s nest. Two strangers were credited with saving Shoff’s life when his kayak capsized in the murky water.
Emily Shoff referred to the women who rescued her husband, who was apparently allergic to wasp stings, as their “two angels” for that heroic act. Michelle Garcia Winner and Pam Crooke were vacationing from San Jose, California, when they came across the family and realized that Jake Shoff was in anaphylactic shock and struggling to breathe.
After Shoff’s passing, former BYU teammate Jim Balderson noted that it was “devastating news” for the entire BYU basketball community.
“I loved Jake. He looked out for me my freshman year and helped me prepare for my mission,” Balderson wrote on X. “Great teammate and friend. So sad.”