Condolences spread through social media platforms Thursday following the announcement of the death of Carl Iwasaki, a beloved former Northern Colorado baseball player and coach.
Iwasaki died Wednesday evening according to a post on his Instagram page by his wife, Shelley.
The post said Iwasaki was an organ donor and his last act was donating his liver to save a life. No cause of death was included in the post.
“Such a Carl thing to do,” the message read. “We are grateful for all the love and prayers that have been sent Carl’s way. Carl was truly a one of a kind, and I hope today you think of him and smile and know he truly lived a wonderful life.”
Iwasaki was a catcher for the Bears from 1981-84 playing for UNC Hall of Fame coach Tom Petroff. Iwasaki graduated in 1985 and returned to lead the program from 2010-22.
He was 62 years old, according to information on his Wikipedia page indicating he was born Oct. 30, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
“I cannot express how fortunate I’ve been over these last 12 years,” Iwasaki said in a statement upon his retirement from UNC. “We’ve been able to accomplish some amazing things since I arrived back in Greeley, and I truly feel like the next great era of UNC Baseball is on the horizon. The passion, culture and commitment from our players, coaches and administration have put this program on a path to success.”
Iwasaki won more than 200 games as head coach at UNC and is the fourth winningest coach in program history, according to information from the UNC Athletic Department.
The university said Iwasaki totaled over 300 wins in more than 20 years as a college coach while working in Colorado, Hawaii, California and Texas.
Iwasaki had a 321-515 career record as a college coach according to his Wikipedia page.
Longtime Division I college coach Nicholas Enriquez wrote in a reply on social media to current UNC coach Mike Anderson’s post on Iwasaki’s death: “It’s often used but rarely does anyone truly embody it — Carl was the nicest person I think I have ever met. He knew baseball but he knew how to treat people. Rest Easy Iwa.”
In a statement, UNC athletic director Darren Dunn said Iwasaki was a tremendous person who was passionate about UNC, student athletes and baseball.
“He touched so many lives and made a tremendous impact on many people during his coaching career,” Dunn said. “Coach Carl will certainly be missed, but not forgotten.”
Iwasaki was pulled out of retirement last year to be the bench coach for the Grand Junction Jackalopes of the Pioneer Baseball League. The Jackalopes are managed by Chris Knabenshue, who was a teammate of Iwasaki’s at UNC.
“When he made the call, I couldn’t say no,” Iwasaki said last year in a news release from the Jackalopes.
Iwasaki coached for a year at Saddleback Community College in the early 2000s before moving to Division III Austin College in Sherman, Texas.
Iwasaki was an assistant for one year at Austin and became head coach in 2004, also according to Wikipedia.
Rest In Peace CARL
LYLAB!!!
DEEP Respect and LOVE for Coach Iwasaki. TEAMMATE, FRIEND, BROTHER, COACH, COLLEAGUE, MENTOR…..thank you for making all around you feel special.
A LIFE WELL SERVED!!!!
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” pic.twitter.com/BlN6ANt3ho
— Mike Anderson (@UNC_BearsCoach) February 8, 2024
Anderson, who was also a teammate of Iwasaki’s at UNC, honored Iwasaki with a photo in a post on Anderson’s X page, formerly known as Twitter.
Including the acronym LYLAB in the post — love you like a brother — Anderson partially wrote in capital letters expressing his respect for Iwasaki, whom he called a teammate, friend, brother, coach, colleague and mentor.
“Thank you for making all around you feel special,” Anderson said in the message, concluding also in caps that Iwasaki’s life was a life well served.
