A 21 Year Old Prospect Remains In A Coma

A 21-year-old college hockey player and St. Louis Blues draft pick now has “zero chance of recovery” after collapsing during a team workout, his family’s lawyer says.

Story Snapshot

Arizona State University defenseman Matthew Mayich, 21, collapsed August 20 during an outdoor team workout in Tempe.
Family lawyer Robert Carey says Mayich has “zero chance of recovery” and remains in a coma at Barrow Neurological Institute.
Carey accuses Arizona State University of mishandling its review and wants coaching staff placed on leave.
The university calls it a fact-finding review, not an investigation, and has not named Mayich publicly out of privacy concerns.

Player Collapses During Outdoor Team Drill

Matthew Mayich collapsed on August 20 during an outdoor workout at Arizona State University’s track facilities in Tempe. He suffered what family and friends describe as a cardiac event. Crews rushed him from the track to a nearby hospital, then transferred him to Barrow Neurological Institute, a specialty facility for brain and nerve care. He has remained hospitalized ever since.

Mayich is a defenseman who played in the Ontario Hockey League before joining Arizona State. The St. Louis Blues picked him in the National Hockey League draft, and he was training as a prospect for the team’s system. He was 11 days into his coma when reporters last confirmed his condition on August 31.

Family Lawyer Says Recovery Is Not Possible

Robert Carey, the lawyer representing Mayich’s family, told The Arizona Republic on August 31 that Mayich has “zero chance of recovery”. Carey has publicly criticized Arizona State University, saying the school “is not handling this responsibly”. He has called for members of the coaching staff to be placed on administrative leave while the circumstances of the workout are sorted out.

Carey said he launched his own inquiry after growing frustrated with the university’s response. He told reporters that players who spoke with him described an intense session with no standard breaks, that they were told not to complain, and that water was only available to those leading the drills. Carey said this account contradicts the university’s version of events.

Ex-Green Beret Led the Workout

Tim Ziesel, a former Green Beret from Scottsdale, was tied to the workout where Mayich collapsed. Ziesel told The Arizona Republic he would not discuss what happened at the track. Reporting from The Athletic described the session as a roughly 60-minute military-style routine that included sprints, planks, push-ups, and bear crawls.

University Frames Its Response as a Review

Arizona State University has repeatedly said it is reviewing, not investigating, the circumstances of the workout. Athletic Director Graham Rossini said, “This is not an investigation where somebody’s suggesting something went wrong. We’re just reviewing the facts and understanding the scenario”. The school has not named Mayich publicly, citing privacy interests.

University spokesperson Chris Fiscus said the athletic department follows heat-illness guidelines based on National Athletic Trainers’ Association recommendations, along with rules for outside groups that work with student-athletes. A later school statement said the review covers the workout itself along with university policies, procedures, and training protocols, with senior vice president James Rund leading that effort.

Update: Family of Matthew Mayich, St. Louis Blues Hockey Prospect from ASU, Now Says He Has ‘Zero Chance of Recovery’ and Remains in Coma – for a miracle please. My heart is breaking for this family and all who love him. https://t.co/hiWbsgceAv

— Olddognewtrixs (@BriMuellerUT) September 2, 2026

Fiscus declined to say who authorized the workout or whether any coaches or trainers were present when Mayich collapsed. The university also has not clarified whether the session counted as an official team activity, an informal gathering, or an individual workout.

Why Speed and Records Matter in These Cases

Medical experts treat sudden collapse during hard exercise as a time-critical emergency. Guidelines from sports medicine groups say rapid cooling and quick medical response in the first minutes after collapse can decide whether an athlete survives conditions like exertional heat stroke. Past cases at other schools, including the 2018 death of Maryland football player Jordan McNair, turned on whether training staff recognized danger signs and acted fast enough.

This case now sits in a familiar and uncomfortable spot for college athletics. A university controls the first official account of what happened, while a family and its lawyer piece together a competing version from anonymous player accounts and outside reporting. Whichever record proves accurate, the outcome for Mayich and his family remains the same grim reality doctors have not been able to change.