Tulsa head football coach Tre Lamb announced plans to honor the wife of an assistant coach, who died unexpectedly last week at the age of 30.
Kayla Saager-Beckley, a former star player for Binghamton University and recently married to Tulane assistant coach John Beckley, died on Wednesday. Lamb stated that Saager-Beckley was pregnant with the couple's first child, a daughter named Sawyer, at the time of her death.
"She was working out, 10 minutes later she was found unresponsive," Lamb said during a press conference Monday. "It's just been a really hard week for him, for us as a staff, our coach’s wives. She was 30 years old. She was pregnant with their daughter, Sawyer. It's been tough on our staff. We had a memorial for her last night. We just ask that you please pray for the Saager family, the Beckley family. We’re going to honor her with a helmet sticker this week at our game, and she’s definitely in our thoughts and prayers."
Binghamton University confirmed Saager-Beckley's death in a news release last Thursday, though no cause of death was immediately provided. The university noted her significant contributions to their women's soccer program.
Saager-Beckley, originally from East Islip, New York, was a formidable striker at Binghamton, scoring 22 goals in two seasons. She served as team captain and was recognized as a two-time all-region player and the 2017 America East Striker of the Year. After graduating in 2019, she played professional soccer overseas before returning to the U.S. as an assistant coach at Troy University for four years.
She had recently moved into college soccer scouting and recruiting and relocated to Tulsa with her husband when he joined the Tulsa coaching staff in 2025. The Tulsa football team improved to 2-0 on the season with a recent victory over Sam Houston.