OXFORD — Ole Miss basketball coach Chris Beard is mourning the death of Sam Schulz, who died Aug. 12. "An absolute warrior arrived in heaven today," Beard posted on X. "My friend and the toughest guy I ever knew and loved. My man Sam Schulz is playing basketball and baseball tonight. No doubt about it. RIP my friend. I'll see you again one day. Thank you for making all our lives better." Schulz, 22, was born with epidermolysis bullosa. He was missing a protein that holds the skin together. "They call it the butterfly disease because a butterfly’s wings are so fragile," Schulz told the Clarion Ledger in 2025. "And so up to 90% of my body is an open wound.”
An absolute warrior arrived heaven today. My friend and the toughest guy I ever knew and loved. My man Sam Schulz is playing basketball and baseball tonight. No doubt about it. RIP my friend. I’ll see you again one day. Thank your for making all our lives better. 🙏🏽 🤝 pic.twitter.com/QvH24BeH8J — Chris Beard (@CoachBeard) August 13, 2026 Beard and Schulz had a friendship built around their shared love of college basketball. "If I had to pick three people to go out to dinner with, he'd be on my list," Beard said in 2025. "I want to hang out with Sam tonight. He can talk about sports. He's like an encyclopedia. He's a sneakerhead. There's a lot of cool things about him. He's an unbelievable human being."
Because of his disease, Schulz was in a wheelchair. It didn't stop the Evansville, Indiana, resident from making an impact on Ole Miss. He started following the Rebels when his older sister, Sadie, enrolled at Ole Miss. When Beard was hired to replace Kermit Davis after the 2022-23 season, Schulz's first in-person interaction with him was indicative of how their relationship would develop. Win Case, who was on Davis' staff and retained under Beard, got Schulz and his family tickets to Ole Miss' 2024 game at Kentucky. Before the game, Schulz was brought into a team conference room he thought was off limits. He didn't want to disturb Beard before the game. When Beard saw him, those fears were instantly alleviated. Beard invited the entire family to dinner with the team and upgraded their seats to right behind Ole Miss' bench. Schulz also struck up friendships with former Ole Miss basketball players, including Jaemyn Brakefield, Jaylen Murray and Sean Pedulla. Schulz inspired Ole Miss throughout the Rebels' run to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament in 2025. "Having a guy like Sam, and his condition, it kinds of put a lot of things in perspective," Pedulla said in 2025. "Whether you're having a tough day or coming off of a loss, you remember the important things in life and sometimes it's bigger than basketball." Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_ This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Chris Beard mourns death of 22-year-old Ole Miss fan: 'Toughest guy I ever knew'