This is absolutely terrifying.
CelebnMusic247.com and CelebnSports247.com reports Arizona State Hockey Star Matthew Mayich, 21, in Coma After Collapsing During Extreme Outdoor Workout!
A that 21-year-old Arizona State hockey player with NHL aspirations is reportedly fighting for his life after collapsing during an intense outdoor team workout in Tempe.
Matthew Mayich remains in a coma after suffering a medical emergency during Thursday morning’s training session—an incident that has now triggered a review by Arizona State University.
And as more details emerge about what players were reportedly put through that morning, serious questions are being raised about the intensity of the workout, the Arizona heat and why an outside former Green Beret was leading the session.
Mayich Collapsed During the Workout
Mayich reportedly became critically ill during an approximately hour-long outdoor training session at Sun Angel Stadium in Tempe.
According to reports, investigators believe he may have suffered a cardiac event, although the precise medical cause of his collapse has not been publicly established.
Tempe Fire Medical Rescue reportedly received a call at approximately 8:31 a.m. regarding a “heat-related illness.”
Emergency crews treated Mayich at the scene before transporting him to a local hospital.
He has reportedly remained in a coma as doctors continue treating him and his family, teammates and supporters desperately wait for signs of improvement.
What Players Reportedly Endured Is Raising Eyebrows
This wasn’t being described as an ordinary hockey conditioning session.
According to The Athletic, the workout lasted approximately an hour and included a demanding combination of:
Sprints. Push-ups. Planks. Bear crawls. Additional exercises for mistakes—and finally, a medicine-ball run.
The publication characterized the workout as both “atypical and extreme.”
Even more surprising?
The man reportedly leading the workout wasn’t an Arizona State employee.
Former Green Beret Led the Workout
The session was reportedly conducted by former Green Beret Tim Ziesel, an outside figure who does not work for Arizona State.
According to reports, players were required to repeat instructions back to Ziesel and accurately count their repetitions.
If a group made a mistake or fell behind, players allegedly faced additional exercises or sprints.
The Athletic further reported that players were instructed not to complain.
The session reportedly concluded with players carrying a medicine ball while running the length of a football field and back.
Ziesel reportedly left before everyone had completed that final exercise.
When approached afterward by The Arizona Republic, Ziesel declined to discuss the specifics, saying he didn’t know the entire situation.
Then There’s the Arizona Heat
Another major question surrounding the incident is impossible to ignore:
The heat.
The workout took place outdoors during the brutal Arizona summer.
Phoenix-area temperatures reportedly climbed to approximately 106 degrees later that afternoon, with the day’s average temperature around 92.5 degrees.
That doesn’t establish the exact temperature or heat index at the moment Mayich collapsed, nor does it prove heat caused his medical emergency.
But the initial emergency call was reportedly classified as involving a heat-related illness, making the environmental conditions an obvious part of the questions surrounding what happened.
Arizona State Launches Review
Arizona State has confirmed it is examining the circumstances surrounding the workout.
ASU Vice President of Media Relations Chris Fiscus said the university was reviewing what occurred.
The school has also said it follows heat-safety guidance from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and maintains policies governing outside organizations working with student-athletes.
Those policies could become particularly important as the university determines exactly how the workout was organized, who approved it, what safety measures were in place and what happened immediately before Mayich collapsed.
At this stage, however, the university’s review remains ongoing, and responsibility for Mayich’s medical emergency has not been established.
Mayich Had Just Arrived at Arizona State
Making the situation even more heartbreaking is that Mayich was just beginning a new chapter in his hockey career.
He transferred to Arizona State this offseason after playing college hockey at Clarkson University.
Before college, Mayich spent four seasons playing for the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League.
And he wasn’t just another college hockey player.
Mayich had already been drafted by the NHL.
The St. Louis Blues selected him in the sixth round of the 2023 NHL Draft.
Although he never signed an entry-level contract with the organization, Mayich attended two Blues prospect camps as he continued pursuing his professional hockey dream.
Now, instead of preparing for his first season with Arizona State, the 21-year-old is facing a battle far bigger than anything that could happen on the ice.
St. Louis Blues Rally Behind Mayich
The Blues have publicly expressed their support for their former draft pick and his family.
The organization said it was keeping Mayich close in its thoughts while hoping for his recovery.
And that support has extended far beyond professional hockey.
Family members say prayers and messages have been pouring in.
Mayich’s cousin Victoria Beara told The Arizona Republic that despite the heartbreak surrounding the family, seeing so many people praying for him has been a blessing.
Was Mayich at Greater Risk as a New Player?
There’s another detail that deserves attention.
Mayich was reportedly one of 18 new faces joining Arizona State’s roster.
That matters because athletes entering a new program can be adjusting simultaneously to different conditioning expectations, training loads and—in Mayich’s case—a dramatically hotter environment.
Heat-safety and acclimatization protocols exist precisely because athletes may need time to adapt to demanding physical activity under unfamiliar environmental conditions.
Whether any of those factors contributed to Mayich’s collapse has not yet been established.
But they’re among the questions Arizona State’s review may need to address.
CelebnSports247 Take
This story is scary—and it should get the attention of every college athletic program in America.
A 21-year-old athlete with an NHL dream entered an outdoor workout and ended up hospitalized in a coma.
That’s the fact that matters most right now.
There will be plenty of time to determine whether the workout was appropriate, whether proper safeguards were followed, why an outside former Green Beret was conducting the session, and whether heat, exertion, an underlying medical issue or some combination of factors played a role.
Those answers need evidence—not speculation.
But one thing should never be controversial:
No workout, practice or conditioning exercise is more important than an athlete’s life.
Right now, Mayich isn’t a draft pick, transfer, prospect or hockey statistic.
He’s a 21-year-old son, family member, teammate and young man fighting to recover.
And an entire hockey community is waiting for the update everyone desperately wants to hear:
Matthew woke up.
