From CJ Online:
Brett Cowdin, who coached at five Shawnee County high schools and launched a pair of college-age summer baseball programs, died Wednesday at the age of 54.
Multiple sources told The Capital-Journal Cowdin died Wednesday evening. No other details about Cowdin's death were immediately available.
Cowdin, who was the offensive coordinator for Washburn Rural's football program this past year, had also coached football and baseball at Hayden, Highland Park, Topeka West and Rossville as well as helping start the Topeka Golden Giants and Rossville Rattlers summer baseball programs. The Rattlers won a National Baseball Congress national title this past summer.
Cowdin had coached football with Steve Buhler at Rossville before joining Buhler for his first season at Washburn Rural this fall.
“He meant so much to me, and the staff,” Buhler said. "He was kind of the confidant. We spent three years at Rossville, and when I came to a new situation and a new place (at Washburn Rural), I leaned on him a lot. He was always there for me.
“What always struck me about Brett was that he was constantly about the kids. He really did have it all figured out as far as how things should be done in coaching and what it was for. I always appreciated that with him. It was whatever was the best thing for the kids, everything was about them, and you couldn't ask for a guy with a bigger heart. Anything a kid needed he was more than happy to step in there and try to help. We're going to miss him a lot.”
John Tetuan, current Topeka West football and baseball coach, and the coach of the Topeka Golden Giants, played for Cowdin on a state championship baseball team at Hayden, and Tetuan also coached with Cowdin at West and worked under Cowdin with the Golden Giants.
“I was around him in a lot of different aspects of life and I think the biggest thing about him, and why everybody kind of gravitated to him, was that he genuinely cared for everybody that he was around,” Tetuan said. “You could tell that when I played for him, when he was the owner of the Giants and I coached for him and when I coached with him. He was a funny guy and joked around a lot, but he cared for you as a friend, as a player for him, as an employee for him. He just cared about you in all aspects.”
