Alabama college student, decorated sailor dies after Navy SEAL ‘drown-proofing’ exercise

CORONADO, Calif. — A 21-year-old Navy SEAL trainee who played college baseball in Alabama has died during his first week of basic underwater demolition/SEAL training, more commonly referred to as BUD/S.

Seaman James “Derek” Lovelace began struggling during a training exercise called “drown-proofing” in which aspiring SEALs bob up and down in the water with their feet tied together and their wrists bound behind their backs.

“It’s a physiological test to see if a guy can do exercises in the water,” an official familiar with the incident told NBC News.

According to Naval Special Warfare Center spokesman Lt. Trevor Davids, Lovelace lost consciousness shortly after being pulled out of the pool. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The cause of death was not immediately known, but SEAL trainees are sometimes prone to “shallow water blackout,” a loss of consciousness typically experienced during a breath-holding exercise.

Lovelance graduated from Crestview High School in Florida and played baseball at Faulkner State Community College in Bay Minette, Alabama. According to the Associated Press, his awards and decorations include the National Defense Ribbon and Sharpshooter Pistol Qualification. His family says his lifelong dream was to be a Navy SEAL.

“I don’t know what to say. He was wonderful,” his grandmother, Jan Pugh, told The Virginian-Pilot. “It was a dream he was chasing out there. He was determined to become a SEAL. We are all just in shock.”

Lovelace’s mother passed away last year, but he is survived by his father, James Lovelace, an Air Force veteran who now works for defense contractor Lockheed Martin, and his two sisters.

“Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of SN Lovelace,” said Capt. Jay Hennessey, commanding officer of the Naval Special Warfare Center. “Though Derek was very new to our community, he selflessly answered his nation’s call to defend freedom and protect this country. He will be sorely missed. We share in his family’s grief from this great loss.”