Community Mourns Death Of Former Holt High, Shelton State Basketball Standout

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Tuscaloosa community is mourning the untimely death of former Holt High School and Shelton State Community College basketball standout Josh Strozier, who was killed in a two-vehicle crash in Lauderdale County Wednesday afternoon.

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He was 26 years old.

As Patch previously reported, Strozier was fatally injured when the 2012 Chevrolet Silverado he was driving collided with a 2017 John Deere S690 combine shortly after 1 p.m. on Alabama Highway 20, roughly 11 miles west of Florence.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency says Strozier was not wearing a seat belt and was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

A 6-foot, 6-inch forward for the Holt Ironmen, Strozier was the seventh-ranked recruit in the state of Alabama coming out of high school and earned third team All-State honors after averaging 19 points, 9 rebounds and assists a game during his junior season.

Strozier initially signed to continue his basketball career at Wingate University in North Carolina, where he appeared in 21 games in freshman season and averaged 7.1 points a game for the Bulldogs.

Arguably the biggest game of his college career saw the Tuscaloosa native score 19 points against Fayetteville State on Nov. 17, 2018, while also adding a season-high seven rebounds.

After redshirting his sophomore season, Strozier made the decision to return home by transferring to Shelton State Community College, where he played for head coach Joe Eatmon.

"One thing we always stress in our program is family," Eatmon told Patch. "And Josh was a part of the Buccaneer family. Not only was Josh a great player, he was an outstanding person. Our hearts are heavy. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Strozier family at this time."

While his numbers at Shelton State saw a decline from his standout freshman year at Wingate, Strozier was still part of a talented Buccaneers squad that won the 2020-2021 Alabama Community College Conference championship.

Following his lone year at Shelton State, Strozier transferred to Lawson State Community College, where he averaged 5.9 points a game, before finishing his college basketball career at Tennessee Wesleyan.

Funeral arrangements for Strozier have not been announced at this time.

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