CARY, N.C. – USA Baseball mourns the loss of alumnus Sean Burroughs, who unexpectedly passed away on Thursday at the age of 43.

Burroughs was a member of the iconic 2000 Olympic Team that won a gold medal in Sydney. He played in four games in the infield for Team USA and compiled a .375 batting average en route to helping the stars and stripes win its first gold medal in Olympic Games history.

Out of high school, Burroughs was the ninth overall selection of the 1998 MLB Draft to the San Diego Padres and spent a combined 19 seasons in the professional ranks. Along with his Team USA nod in 2000, he was named to the All-Star Futures Game that year in the Padres minor league system and earned Most Valuable Player honors. He made his big league debut for the Padres in 2002, and had stops with the Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, Minnesota Twins, and Los Angeles Dodgers before closing out his professional career in the Atlantic League in 2017.

“We at USA Baseball are heartbroken to hear of the tragic passing of Sean," said USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO Paul Seiler. "Sean was a part of one of our most beloved teams, and he represented our country on and off the field in a first-class manner. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Burroughs family during this time."