JMU Mourns Loss of Sophomore Lauren Bernett

James Madison University on Tuesday morning announced the passing of sophomore catcher Lauren Bernett.

Bernett, a 20-year-old biology major from McDonald, Pennsylvania, was a two-year starter for JMU and helped the lead the Dukes on last year’s run to the Women’s College World Series.

“Our hearts are aching, hearing the news of the loss of one of our student-athletes,” JMU President Jonathan Alger said in a statement. “Lauren Bernett was a high-achieving member of our softball team and a great ambassador of JMU and our athletics program. She was a key member of our 2021 Women’s College World Series team as a freshman catcher last year.”

No cause of death was cited by the university.

Bernett was batting .336 with nine home runs, six doubles, 18 runs scored and 33 RBIs this season for JMU. On Monday, she was named Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week after hitting .788 (7 for 9) with seven RBIS and four runs scored in a series sweep over Drexel.

Two weeks ago in a win over College of Charleston, Bernett tied a single-game school record with seven RBIs.

“College athletics is great because of the people with whom we get to interact every day,” Alger said. “We are a tight family. We are grateful that Lauren has been part of our JMU Athletics community and will always consider her to be a Duke. We will miss her dearly.”