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Rick Barnes shares heartfelt message following death of longtime Tennessee sports reporter Wes Rucker

Byington mugby: Alex Byington02/20/26_AlexByington

Vol Nation is in mourning after longtime University of Tennessee sports reporter Wes Rucker died Thursday in a tragic multivehicle wreck on I-40 West in Knoxville. He was 43.

Rucker’s father-in-law, David Goldberg, was the first to confirm the news of Rucker’s passing. He did so in a Facebook post Thursday evening.

“We are heartbroken,” the post read. Rucker leaves behind his wife, Lauren, young son, Hank, and an unborn daughter.

Tennessee men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes opened Friday’s press availability by honoring Rucker and asking all Volunteers fans to say a prayer for his family during this difficult time.

“Before we get started, as you know, we lost a friend and a colleague yesterday in Wes Rucker and it’s just heartbreaking. It really is, just heartbreaking. And our hearts and prayers go out to Lauren, his son Hank and the one that’s on the way. We just ask that God will place a holy hedge of protection around his entire family,” Barnes said, via video provided by GoVols247’s Ben McKee. “Wes was a wonderful person, really a wonderful guy, and he covered athletics here for a quarter of a century, and was a part of the UT family and the sports family here in Knoxville.

“We just ask that today, at some poin,t you say a prayer for Wes and his family. I know we’re going to miss him dearly,” Barnes continued. “He loved what he did, he loved his family. I’m just thankful that God allowed him to be a part of my life for the last 11 years. And, again, today at some point and time, I just pray you pray for his family.”

Rucker was the lone fatality in a five-vehicle wreck that occurred shortly before 5 p.m. CT on I-40 West in Knoxville, according to a release by the Knoxville Police Department. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The multivehicle accident resulted after a vehicle stopped for traffic was rear-ended, setting off a chain reaction that ended with a large pickup truck driving over the top of Rucker’s vehicle. It was among those involved in the initial wreck, per KPD’s statement.

Rucker, a Tennessee graduate who was most recently working as a sports writer and on-air host for Knoxville’s WBIR-TV, had covered Vols athletics since starting his career with the school’s newspaper, The Daily Beacon, in 2000. He also worked for the Chattanooga Times Free Press and was a longtime senior writer for 247Sports covering Tennessee. He joined WBIR in 2025.

A GoFundMe page has been set up in Wes Rucker’s honor for those interested in helping support his family. Due to his recent career transition, Rucker did not have a life insurance policy and all funds raised will go directly to his family’s ongoing needs, per the GoFundMe page.