‘My whole world stopped:’ Waccamaw High School student remembered after deadly swimming incident

PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC (WMBF) – Teammates of Waccamaw High School basketball player Tyrese Haynes are reflecting on his life and legacy after he died last week.

Haynes was reported missing on Friday when he went swimming in the ocean. Bystanders report seeing someone go under the water and not return.

On Saturday, the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office reported they had found Hayne’s body near Huntington Beach State Park.

Hayne’s friends said he was a rising senior at Waccamaw High School, where he was known for playing basketball. They said he had a contagious smile and was a genuinely nice person.

Five of Hayne’s teammates sat down with WMBF News Reporter Steven Schlink on Monday and reflected on his life and the legacy they hope to carry on.

His teammates described him as confident, determined, and an overall amazing person.

“He was determined. He had so much potential,” Jerrien Burgess said.

When asked how they were dealing with the news of his passing, his teammates said they were in a state of disbelief.

“After confirming from multiple sources it was him, [I] just sunk down in my room. In shock. Disbelief,” Jaylan Hollway-Caldwell said. “When they confirmed that he had passed. My whole world stopped. It’s like time froze.”

Nate Kettle said another teammate broke the news to him over a text message.

“I was at work. I opened up my phone just for a second to check. I saw a text from one of my teammates, Justin. And I opened it and he said ‘Nate man,’ I was like ‘What’s up bro?’ he’s like ‘Tyrese man, he’s gone.’ I’m like ‘No way, this isn’t real.’ my whole body just went numb,” Kettle said.

His teammates shared some of the best memories they had with Hayes and talked about his drive to be the best player on the court.

“Every time I come up to him like, hey man, get out of the little slump you’re in, we need you. He’d turn it up for us every single time no matter who we were playing. It didn’t matter. That’s what I’ll always remember about him. He was a real, true competitor,” Kodi Williams shared.

Others shared fond memories of his infectious laugh and smile. Each of the five team members had memories to share giving them pause and opportunity to laugh amidst an otherwise somber time.

“He had one specific clip that he would have pinned on his computer on Huddle. And every single day he would pull that up and be like ‘Hey, yo, Aiden, watch this.’ it would be that same clip every single day. It would always just kill him, everyday he would just die laughing. It was the funniest thing,” Kettle recalled.

“Even though it was about Aiden, Tyrese’s smile was just so contagious,” Sutton Cooper added.

They all spoke about the future and his legacy and how they want others to remember him.

“Just throughout this next basketball season, there’s a lot of opportunities to honor him. And I think. I know we’re going to honor him the best we can,” rising senior Sutton Cooper said.

“We can’t forget him. Gotta keep living and loving people the way he did. Keep your loved ones close because you never know what could happen,” Williams said.

The group said they hope to continue on Hayne’s legacy by giving it all anytime they are on the court.

“I just want the world to know that Tyrese was a good person. Just his personality. In my opinion, he didn’t have like one flaw. Like there was nothing wrong. He was just a good person,” Burgess said.

“Tyrese was a very unique person. He was original. He didn’t try to copy anybody, he didn’t try to repeat anybody. He did his own thing. That’s what I really respected about him. If he had to go do his own thing by himself, he went and did his own thing by himself. He was consistent, focused, disciplined,” Hollway-Caldwell said.

His teammates said they are striving to live and love like Hayes.

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