Tennessee waterway deaths this year have climbed to 23, surpassed last year’s total, after an Arkansas man was killed in Wayne County Oct. 17.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency reported 22 deaths for all of 2024, a decrease from 27 in 2023.
Wildlife resource officers were called to Kentucky Lake in Wayne County just before 3 p.m. Oct. 17 after a boater went into the water, according to a news release.
Wayne County is about two hours south of Nashville on the Alabama, Tennessee state line.
Matthew Hubble, 37, of Brookland, Arkansas, was out on a boat with friends when he was ejected. The group had multiple boats on the water that day, the agency said.
Hubble’s friends immediately began searching for him, the agency said. They were successful and pulled him onto one of the boats where they took him to Clifton Marina. Paramedics met the group at the marina, the agency said.
Hubble ultimately did not survive.
He was not wearing a life jacket at the time of the accident, the agency said.
“The investigation is ongoing, and no further details are available at this time,” the agency said.
Kentucky Lake reported the most the most boating injuries in Tennessee last year with six, according to the 2024 Tennessee Boating Incident Statistical Report.
Despite the rise in the number of deaths this year, the Middle Tennessee region has largely been spared.
Between April and September of 2023, there were 17 waterway deaths on Nashville District Lakes. Last year there were 14 deaths, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.
Percy Priest Reservoir and Old Hickory Lake led the state in fatal accidents on waterways in 2024 with three each, according to the statistical report.
Percy Priest has seen fewer incidents this year.
In June, a child drowned while swimming with his family at Hamilton Creek Park. Tobias Henock, 5, went underwater and was missing for several minutes before his father found him. Family began CPR until paramedics arrived and took the boy to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital. He was pronounced dead there.
A series of waves rocked David Holcroft’s sailboat, causing him to lose his balance and fall overboard Aug. 2. Nearby boaters heard a call for help.
Officers with the wildlife agency responded to the Hamilton Creek area of the Percy Priest Reservoir and pulled Holcroft from the water. Officers gave him CPR until paramedics arrived at the scene.
Holcroft was taken to TriStar Summit Medical Center, where he died.
Stuttgart, circa 1910: Mae and Ted Barnhart posed with their dog, the only one who seemed happy for the camera. Theodore Barnhart, born 1906, grew up to serve in the Navy during World War II, dying in 1952. Ted’s sister, Mae, born 1903 and passing in 1994, grew up to marry Charles Henry Dobbs.
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Kentucky had a need at wide receiver entering the only transfer portal window of the offseason. The Wildcats addressed the position again on Day 10. UK has added a second transfer to the room. This is a familiar name to those who follow recruiting.
Arkansas transfer Ja’Kayden Ferguson committed to the Wildcats after his visit to Lexington over the weekend. The wide receiver was a former UK commit who flipped to the Hogs during the 2025 recruiting cycle. Now Ferguson has flipped back to the Big Blue.
Ja’Kayden Ferguson was a three-star recruit out of Metro Houston who picked Kentucky following a June official visit ahead of the 2024 season. However, Ferguson decided to open up his recruitment five months later and flipped to Arkansas. The 6-foot-2 receiver appeared in six games for the Razorbacks as a true freshman and burned his redshirt. Ferguson played just 20 offensive snaps.
The SEC transfer becomes the eighth current full-time scholarship player in Kentucky’s current wide receivers room. Some more additions are expected.
| Player | Position | High School | Former School | Year |
| Olaus Alinen | G/T (6-6, 322) | Windson (Conn.) The Loomis Chaffee School | Alabama | Redshirt Junior |
| Jesse Anderson | S (6-0, 180) | Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal Gibbons | Pittsburgh | Redshirt Junior |
| Max Anderson | iOL (6-5, 311) | Frisco (Texas) High | Tennessee | Redshirt Sophomore |
| Elijah “Bo” Barnes | LB (6-1, 244) | Dallas (Texas) Skyline | Texas | Redshirt Freshman |
| Jovantae Barnes | RB (6-0, 211) | Las Vegas (Nev.) Desert Pines | Oklahoma | Redshirt Senior |
| Ahmad Breaux | iDL (6-3, 278) | Ruston (La.) High | LSU | Junior |
| Jordan Castell | S (6-2, 213) | Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange | Florida | Senior |
| Xavier Daisy | WR (6-3, 210) | Norcross (Ga.) Greater Atlanta Christian School | UAB | Junior |
| Ja’Kayden Ferguson | WR (6-2, 187) | Missouri City (Texas) Thurgood Marshall | Arkansas | Sophomore |
| Aaron Gates | Nickel (6-0, 198) | Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian | Florida | Redshirt Junior |
| Jamarrion Harkless | iDL (6-3, 315) | Lexington (Ky.) Frederick Douglass | Purdue | Redshirt Junior |
| Lance Heard | T (6-6, 330) | Monroe (La.) Neville | LSU | Tennessee | Senior |
| Mark Manfred III | CB (6-1, 175) | Marietta (Ga.) Sprayberry | Missouri | Redshirt Freshman |
| Kenny Minchey | QB (6-2, 208) | Hendersonville (Tenn.) Pope John Paul II | Notre Dame | Redshirt Junior |
| Antonio O’Berry | EDGE (6-6, 240) | Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne | Tiffin (D-II) | Gardner-Webb | 6th-Year Senior |
| Coleton Price | iOL (6-3, 318) | Bowie (Texas) High | Baylor | Redshirt Senior |
| Spencer Radnoti | LS (6-3, 230) | Canton (Ga.) Cherokee | Georgia State | Redshirt Sophomore |
| Cyrus Reyes | S (6-1, 200) | Taylor (Texas) High | Mississippi State | Junior |
| Hasaan Sykes | CB (6-0, 185) | Tuckert (Ga.) High | Western Carolina | Junior |
| Tavion Wallace | LB (6-1, 239) | Baxley (Ga.) Appling County | Arkansas | Sophomore |
| Dominic Wiseman | iDL (6-2, 300) | Davenport (Iowa) High | South Alabama | Redshirt Senior |
| Adam Zouagui | K (5-11, 188) | Herndon (Va.) High | Davidson | South Florida | Senior |
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