Longtime Gophers baseball coach Todd Oakes passes away

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - Longtime and beloved Gophers baseball pitching coach Todd Oakes passed away Thursday in hospice care. He was 55.

“With a heavy heart, we are saddened to say that Todd passed away peacefully this morning," the Oakes family posted on CaringBridge. "He was surrounded by his family with a cross in his hand and his favorite music playing."

Todd Oakes, known at T.O., was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in 2012. He beat it, but the cancer returned in 2014. Once again, Oakes beat the cancer. However, the cancer returned for a third time in the fall of 2015.

Oakes was the Gophers' pitching coach for 18 years.