Wofford Terriers assistant coach Jeremiah Samarrippas shared that his 22-month-old daughter, Amelia, has died, without announcing a cause of death. In posts on X and Instagram, he described her love for basketball games, her bond with their family, and his det
For Wofford Terriers Men’s Basketball assistant coach Jeremiah Samarrippas, the grief arrived quietly and then landed all at once.
On Thursday, June 18, Samarrippas wrote via X that his baby girl was gone. “We are sad to share that our baby girl is no longer with us. I’m not sure how we live life without her,” he said. “She was so special in a million different ways. Our hearts are hurting and I don’t think it’ll ever stop.”
He did not announce a cause of death.
The loss had already touched his public life earlier in the week. On Monday, June 15, he previously asked for prayers for his daughter via X. The new message on June 18 confirmed what many had been hoping would not happen.
Samarrippas and his wife, Brooke Samarrippas, welcomed their daughter Amelia in July 2024. In his post. Jeremiah returned to the role he had tried to be for her—especially because she was his “girl dad” and. as he wrote. someone he wanted to protect. “I was a girl dad and would do anything I could to protect her. love her and make sure she has anything she needs. ” he wrote. “She brought joy to so many people and was loved by everyone that met her.”.
He also described how Amelia’s personality showed up even in the routines around his team. According to Jeremiah, Amelia loved going to basketball games to cheer on her dad’s team and would always dance to the game’s music.
In recent weeks, he said, her world expanded again. Amelia recently became a big sister to their youngest child, 1-month-old Jase. “She bragged to everyone about him, constantly wanted to hold him, help with him, and be attached to him. She was the best big sister in the world,” Jeremiah wrote. He added that because Brooke had to nurse and give Jase more attention. it gave him time to build an even closer relationship with Amelia.
Jeremiah framed Amelia’s impact as something that will outlast the time they had together. “Millie will always be with us and I will do all that I can to keep her memory lasting forever. ” he wrote. before ending with a message to their daughter: “Rest Baby Girl. We are proud of you. Daddy loves you forever.”.
Brooke also shared her tribute, posting on Instagram on Thursday. “We can’t believe that we are sharing these words, but our Millie girl is no longer with us. We know our girl is in the best place, being met by Jesus,” she wrote. She described Amelia as a child who “stormed Heaven with a smile on her face and dancing to the music. ” calling her “the most beautiful. fun. loving. smart. joyful. caring little girl 🤍.”.
Despite their grief, Brooke and Jeremiah said they intend to carry Amelia’s spirit forward by helping other families. Brooke wrote that Amelia “wanted to ‘hep’ in every way possible,” and that her parents believe she would want to help other families “have a chance at keeping their babies.”
She said they would be doing her honor walk sometime on Saturday, adding that they would update when they have “a more concrete time.” Brooke asked people to keep them in their prayers as they navigate “this incredibly difficult time.”
She also offered a devastating measure of how central Amelia has been to their home, writing, “Our entire world and home has revolved around her for the last 688 days. Learning to live without her will be unbearably hard.”
In the middle of that private devastation, one thing remains clear from both parents’ words: Amelia’s presence—at games, in the family’s day-to-day life, and in the way she loved her father and her baby brother—was not small. And her memory, they say, won’t be either.
Jeremiah Samarrippas Wofford Terriers Amelia Samarrippas Brooke Samarrippas coach mourns daughter baby girl death X post Instagram tribute basketball games honor walk