Some are remembered for action, some for the attitude they carry along the way. E-Man will be remembered by his baseball and football families for both. Emmanuel “E-Man” Seward Jr. passed away on July 9 at the age of 17. He was a member of the Brooklyn Center class of 2025.
According to the Stearns County Sheriff’s Department, Seward Jr. jumped into the water at the Quarry Park and Nature Preserve in Waite Park and never resurfaced.
The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office has determined the cause of death to be accidental drowning.
A vigil was held for Seward at the Brooklyn Center High School football field on July 12. Friends and family gathered to honor his memory on the field, releasing waves of purple, white, and black balloons to honor a Centaur student-athlete as dedicated as they come.
Seward was a multi-sport athlete and dedicated teammate at Brooklyn Center High School. During the 2023 fall and 2024 spring seasons, Seward helped both teams to a year of growth and promise, including one of Brooklyn Center baseball’s most successful seasons in over a decade.
Brooklyn Center baseball head coach Kevin Pitman spoke to that smile in a memorial post for Seward last week.
“E-Man has a trademark smirk,” Pitman wrote. “Sets a PR in the weight room, that smirk. Sacks the quarterback or cranks a ball into the gap, that smirk. Cheddar Ruffles, smirk. Joking with friends, smirk. Caused a little mischief, smirk. I will always remember E-Man with that smile on his face and the energy he brings anywhere he goes. Our little baseball program won’t be the same without you E. I take solace in knowing that I never hesitated to tell you that I loved you when I’d drop you off after practice. My Centaurs, take it easy, be kind to yourself, give your closest friends and family a big hug, and eat some Cheddar Ruffles for E-Man.”
Seward also brought a special presence off the field, an energy best surmised by his trademark smile.
Football was one of Seward’s biggest passions and he built a strong relationship with Chauncy Williams-Barefield, who was the head coach of Brooklyn Center football from 2019 to 2024. He took a new position at Hopkins ahead of the 2024 fall season.
Williams-Barefield told the Sun Post that Seward had gone on a promising journey as a player and person while playing for the Centaurs, as well as noting the energy the defensive end brought to the school and team.
“E-Man had a big personality and a big influence on the kids around him,” Williams-Barefield said. “He loved to have fun and was full of energy. He marched to the beat of his own drum. ... Defensive coordinator M’Angelo Harris and myself poured a lot into him, showing him how he could grow. What’s really unfortunate is that he was starting to make those strides with his grades, with playing a big part in the baseball season. He had started to make the progress that all of us coaches wanted to see from him and was on his way to being who we all knew he could be.”
Williams-Barefield added that Seward was a very talented football player, but also brought a lot to the team as a friend and teammate beyond the action of the game.
“He was a heck of a football player, playing defensive end for us. He was undersized but his fight, his tenacity, his competitiveness was powerful. Once he set his mind to something, he was all for it,” he said. “He was an absolute force on the field. He got sacks, tackles for a loss, he made big plays left and right for the team. ... He was a loyal friend. He had some friends on the team and they were like brothers. They spent all day with each other all day every day. ... He was just a really good kid. ... [When I last spoke to him] he was excited about football, excited about summer, and excited about becoming a better version of himself.”
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