Derek Becker Death: Derek Becker, a champion baseball player at Cohoes High School who proceeded to play Iona College, passed on Saturday in Florida. He was going to Keiser University, where he had moved from Iona to play baseball at the NAIA school.

“He was shot and killed (Saturday) night in Florida,” Cohoes athletic chief Jeff Huneau affirmed Sunday night.

Becker, an individual from the Times Union Small School All-Area crew as a first-group choice in both 2016 and 2017, wore No. 2 in secondary school — similar number his #1 baseball player Derek Jeter wore playing for the New York Yankees. He was named after the Hall of Fame shortstop and played a similar position.

“He was quite a decent child,” Huneau said.

Huneau posted the accompanying explanation on his Twitter account: “Cohoes Athletics is crushed to hear the information on the death of Derek Becker. Derek was an amazingly diligent employee, a definitive contender, a phenomenal competitor, and an incredible youngster. Our musings and supplications are with his family. RIP#2 @CohoesSchools.”

During his senior season at Cohoes, Becker encouraged lead the Tigers to 9-2 triumph at Voorheesville. After the game, Voorheesville mentor Kyle Turski said of Becker after he dominated hitting, handling and throwing against the Blackbirds, “There are kids that play baseball and there are baseball players. He, pass on, is a baseball player. I promise you that child watches baseball and rests, eats and inhales it. Those are the children that do those sort of things. He’s great.”