Tomassino "Tommy" Offer

Tomassino "Tommy" Offer was an 18 year old freshman baseball player at Wheaton College in Illinois who had moved from Washington Township, Michigan, to study business and continue his athletic career. He had graduated from Notre Dame Preparatory School in Pontiac, Michigan, where he was a two sport standout, playing baseball and soccer, and had been part of a team that won the program's first state soccer championship.

Offer died on Sunday, October 11, 2026, in Wheaton, Illinois, after attending a morning Mass at St. Michael Catholic Church. He was struck by an eastbound Union Pacific freight train near Main Street and Front Street in downtown Wheaton. According to a Metra spokesperson, Offer had stopped at the tracks while a westbound freight train passed, and once it had cleared the crossing he began to cross and did not see a second, eastbound train approaching from the opposite direction. He was 18 years old. The DuPage County coroner identified him, and the incident remained under investigation by authorities in the days afterward.

Offer had only recently settled into his new life at Wheaton College, having arrived on campus in August as a member of the Thunder baseball team. The Reverend Santos Castillo of St. Michael Catholic Church said he spoke with Offer just before the young man left the 9 a.m. service with a friend, planning to head into Chicago afterward. Castillo described Offer as a quiet but devoted parishioner who attended Mass diligently every Sunday since arriving in Wheaton.

News of the death moved quickly through the Wheaton College community and back to Offer's hometown in Michigan. Wheaton baseball head coach Matt Husted said the team was grieving alongside Offer's family and friends, and remembered him as sincere, joyful and a true competitor who had built a wide network of friends on campus beyond the baseball program. Notre Dame Preparatory School also issued a tribute, calling Offer an outstanding student and an even better young man who was loved by his teachers, classmates, soccer teammates and baseball teammates. His former high school coach, Jason Gendreau, wrote that the school community was deeply saddened by the sudden loss.

Wheaton College held a memorial gathering on the evening of the accident, and students and community members returned to St. Michael Catholic Church the following Monday for a memorial Mass in Offer's honor. Friends and teammates shared tributes on social media describing him as one of the most genuine and caring people they had known. Offer was remembered as someone whose faith was central to his life, and his coach said the team took comfort in knowing he was strong in his Christian faith.

Offer's death ended a promising athletic career before his first collegiate season had even begun. As a senior at Notre Dame Prep he had batted .388, scored 26 runs, driven in 15 and stolen 13 bases, while also pitching and winning two games. He was a first team all state soccer selection. His sudden loss, just weeks into his freshman year, left his college teammates, his home church and his Michigan community mourning a young man many described as warm, hardworking and devoted to the people around him.