It has been a week now since 19-year-old freshman and baseball player Rob Brasier was found dead in his McMahon dorm room by the UW police.

The cause of death still remains a mystery.

"There was no sign of foul play, and the student was not sick prior to his time of death," UWPD Chief Ray Wittmier told The Daily last week. "It also does not appear to be a suicide."

The UWPD believes Brasier's death was accidental and are awaiting results of a toxicology test, which could take up to nine weeks.

"We're quite a few weeks off from getting the results and finding out what happened," Wittmier said.

In the meantime, friends, family and teammates are commemorating Brasier's life. The baseball team observed a moment of silence in his honor before their Saturday game against the University of California, Irvine.

Sophomore Melodie Randles started a Facebook group dedicated to Brasier's memory. Randles met Brasier as part of the Husky marching band. The two struck up a friendship and often corresponded through the Internet.

"He was a quality guy," Randles said. "Really nice and smart — crazy smart."

Brasier was a star athlete and a right-handed pitcher at Ball High School in Galveston, Texas. He was heavily recruited by various colleges but ultimately chose the UW because of its excellent program in mathematical sciences, in which he planned to major. A stellar student, Brasier left Galveston a National Merit Scholar with a 4.2 GPA.

In November 2005, following Brasier's recruitment, UW baseball coach Ken Knutson told College Sports TV, "Rob really recruited us. He had several schools around the nation he was looking at, due to the academics. He's a hard thrower with a good slider, and a truly remarkable student."

The transition to college did not prove an easy one for Brasier, however.

According to a Seattle Times article, on a fall trip with the rest of the pitchers on the UW team, Braiser sprained his ankle, an injury that forced him to miss the majority of fall ball.

He also ran into academic setbacks. Always an exceptional student, Brasier began missing and failing classes. In mid-January, he was suspended from the baseball team for reasons that will not be disclosed out of respect for Brasier's family.

Last Tuesday, Brasier's McMahon roommate and fellow pitcher Brent Miller left their shared dorm room to stay with his parents in Woodinville.

When Brasier was not seen by anyone in his dorm for more than a day, students became concerned. The dorm's resident adviser called the UWPD on Wednesday night.

Police arrived on the scene around 7:20 p.m. to find the door was dead-bolted. The fire department was subsequently called to break down the door, and Brasier was found dead inside.

The coroner's report estimated that he had been dead for nearly 20 hours.

Knutson, who had received a concerned call from Miller prior to the UWPD's arrival on the scene, called his team together late Wednesday evening and broke the news.

He is encouraging his team to lean on each other for comfort as well as seek support from the UW counseling center.

Randles described Brasier as someone who combined athletic prowess with voracious intellect.

"He was an amazing baseball player, but he was more interested in the college programs than the baseball program," she said.

Randles said Brasier felt a great deal of pressure and often felt alone, particularly after being suspended from the team.

"He was so wrapped up in academics and he had a really hard course load," she said. "He was also really devastated about his suspension. I had a bad feeling that something might happen. I would say, you know, 'Let's hang out, let's talk,' but he was busy. He'd tell me we'd, you know, get together next week. He was working really hard."

Friday morning, Brasier's mother, Anne, arrived in Seattle from Galveston to collect her son's belongings and also met with Knutson.

The family is planning a private funeral in Galveston.

Reach reporter Siv Prince at news@thedaily.washington.edu.