Elijah Olaniyi, a former Stony Brook University men’s basketball star, died on Thursday after a fight with brain cancer. He was 26.
On Nov. 30, 2023, Olaniyi was diagnosed with a tumor on his brain. After undergoing three surgeries to remove it, doctors discovered that it was cancerous and had been present since the 2021-22 season. After having radiation therapy done at Hackensack Meridian Health Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Olaniyi announced that he was cancer-free on Feb. 27, 2024. Unfortunately, the cancer returned later that year, hospitalizing Olaniyi once again.
Olaniyi was born on Jan. 11, 1999, in Brooklyn, N.Y. After attending high school at Newark East Side in Newark, N.J., Olaniyi enrolled at Stony Brook in the fall of 2017. Just two days after moving into college, Olaniyi’s mother, Ruth Olaniyi, passed away.
As a freshman during the 2017-2018 season, Olaniyi was a key player off the Seawolves’ bench, appearing in all 32 games that season. He was named the America East Conference’s Rookie of the Year after averaging 7.8 points per game and shooting 45.5% from the field.
He continued to excel on the court, averaging 12.3 points as a sophomore en route to an All-America East Third Team nod before exploding for 18.0 points per game as a junior. For his efforts in the 2019-2020 season, Olaniyi was named to the All-America East First Team.
In 2020, Olaniyi transferred to the University of Miami for his senior season, where he posted 10.5 points per contest with the Power Five school.
After being awarded an extra year of NCAA eligibility due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Olaniyi transferred back to Stony Brook to finish a degree in business.
During his final year in 2021-22, Olaniyi suffered a knee injury in the Seawolves’ third game of the season. After coming back from the injury, he battled mental health issues that kept him off the court for a handful of games. Later, doctors determined that the tumor may have played a role in Olaniyi’s mental health issues.
Upon moving on from Stony Brook, Olaniyi launched a professional career, playing for the Basket-Ball Club Sparta Bertrange, a team based in Luxembourg, in the 2022-2023 season. Despite his success overseas, Olaniyi was forced to medically retire on Dec. 6, 2023.
“Elijah will live on in the hearts and minds of all who loved him, and we extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends during this difficult time,” Stony Brook Athletics wrote in a statement on Instagram.
Olaniyi is survived by his father, Festus Olaniyi, and five siblings — Samson, Gabriel, David, Esther and Hannah.
