The Kentucky basketball program was struck by tragedy on Thursday when news spread across the basketball world that former Wildcat Terrence Clarke had died in an auto accident in Los Angeles.

He was 19 years old.

Clarke had recently completed his freshman season with the Cats and was preparing for the 2021 NBA Draft.

"I am absolutely gutted and sick tonight," UK head coach John Calipari said in a statement released by the program. "A young person who we all love has just lost his life too soon, one with all of his dreams and hopes ahead of him.

"Terrence Clarke was a beautiful kid, someone who owned the room with his personality, smile, and joy. People gravitated to him, and to hear we have lost him is just hard for all of us to comprehend right now. We are all in shock."

Calipari plans to travel to Los Angeles to be with Clarke's mother and brother.

“We are stunned by this sudden, heartbreaking tragedy,” said Mitch Barnhart, UK Director of Athletics. “Terrence was a young man who was so full of life and so full of promise. We hurt and grieve with his family, his friends, and his teammates and coaches, and our prayers are with all of them in this unimaginable loss.”

Clarke missed most of the 2020-21 season due to a lower-body injury. The 6-foot-7 wing was limited to eight games, including six starts. The Boston native averaged 9.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game.

The 2020 England Preparatory School Athletic Council AAA Player of the Year led Brewster Academy to the 2019 National Prep Championships and had his team back in the 2020 finals before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the rest of the event.

Clarke is survived by his parents, Osmine Clarke and Adrian Briggs, and his three siblings, Tatyana Gray, Gavin Clarke, and Madison Adrianne.