Kayla Saager-Beckley Obituary, Tulsa OK: Former Binghamton University Soccer Captain Dies at 30
The soccer community is mourning the sudden death of Kayla Saager-Beckley, a former Binghamton University soccer captain and 2017 America East Striker of the Year who died in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on September 9, 2026. She was 30.
Binghamton University Athletics confirmed her death in an announcement issued September 10, describing Saager-Beckley as a former captain and student-athlete whose contributions helped elevate the program.
Kayla Saager-Beckley’s Soccer Career
A native of East Islip, New York, Saager-Beckley built an accomplished soccer career that included collegiate, professional and coaching experience.
At Binghamton, she scored 22 goals across two seasons. Her 2017 campaign was especially impressive, as she recorded 11 goals and 29 points while helping the Bearcats share the America East regular-season title.
That season earned her the America East Striker of the Year award, along with All-ECAC and All-Region recognition. She followed it with another 11-goal season in 2018 and remained one of the program’s most productive attacking players.
Binghamton says her goals-per-game and points-per-game figures remain among the best in the program’s Division I history.
From Professional Soccer to Coaching
After graduating from Binghamton with a sociology degree, Saager-Beckley continued her soccer career overseas, playing professionally for FC Slovacko Zeny in the Czech Republic.
She later moved into coaching and spent four years with the women’s soccer program at Troy University, where she also earned a master’s degree in health and physical education. Troy had previously announced her promotion to assistant coach after she joined the program as a part-time assistant in 2020.
Most recently, she transitioned into college soccer scouting and recruiting. Binghamton said she and her husband, John Beckley, had moved to Tulsa and married in June 2026.
Cause of Death and Family
The publicly available reports do not disclose a specific cause of death. Tulsa head coach Tre Lamb described her death as a medical emergency and said she was found unresponsive about 10 minutes after working out. Reports also state that she was pregnant with the couple’s first child, a daughter they planned to name Sawyer.
Binghamton University said Saager-Beckley is survived by her husband John, parents Ron and Noranne, and sisters Rachel and Veronica.
Funeral and memorial arrangements were not available in the sources reviewed and are expected to be announced by the family.
Her legacy continues through the players she inspired, the teams she represented and the athletes she later helped through coaching and recruiting.
