Katie Meyer, a 22-year-old undergraduate student-athlete at Stanford University, recently died in an on-campus residence, the school informed students Wednesday.
Meyer, a senior, served as team captain on the university soccer team since 2020, playing the position of goalkeeper, according to her Stanford bio. She was studying international relations and history.
The young woman’s cause of death has not been disclosed.
Stanford Athletics
“It is with great sadness that we report that Katie Meyer, a senior majoring in International Relations and minoring in History, a Resident Assistant, and a team captain and goalkeeper on the Stanford Women’s Soccer Team, has passed away,” Vice Provost for Student Affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole told students.
“Please join us in offering our deepest condolences to her parents and sisters,” Brubaker-Cole wrote. “We would also like to extend our heartfelt condolences to Katie’s friends, hallmates, classmates, teammates, faculty and coaches. University counseling staff have been on-site at her residence hall, and athletics counseling staff have been working with our student athletes. We will continue to reach out and offer support to the many campus community members who knew her.”
The vice provost described Meyer as “extraordinarily committed” and “larger-than-life.”
“Katie was extraordinarily committed to everything and everyone in her world,” the statement said. “Her friends describe her as a larger-than-life team player in all her pursuits, from choosing an academic discipline she said ‘changed my perspective on the world and the very important challenges that we need to work together to overcome’ to the passion she brought to the Cardinal women’s soccer program and to women’s sports in general.”
“Fiercely competitive, Katie made two critical saves in a penalty shootout against North Carolina to help Stanford win its third NCAA women’s soccer championship in 2019,” the school wrote. “Katie was a bright shining light for so many on the field and in our community.”
“There are no words to express the emptiness that we feel at this moment. We are reaching out to all of you in our community, because this impacts all of us. Please know you are not alone,” Brubaker-Cole told students, linking to support resources.
“We can all help by checking in on friends and loved ones,” she added. “Be caring to yourselves and one another. We will grieve this great loss together, and we will be here for each other. More details about opportunities to remember Katie as a community will be communicated as soon as we are able.”
Meyer was born in Burbank, California, to parents Steven and Gina Meyer, and has two sisters named Samantha and Siena, according to her Stanford bio.
Some of Meyer’s Stanford University career highlights are noted below, per the school:
- NCAA Champions (2019)
- Two-time Pac-12 Champions (2018-19)
- Two College Cup appearances (2018-19)
- 2019 College Cup All-Tournament team
- 2019 United Coaches All-West Region third team
- Two-time Pac-12 Fall Academic Honor Roll (2019, 2020-21)
- 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District 8
- Team Captain (2020-present)