In 2019, DJ Eliot set a daily alarm on his phone that read, "Make Drue's day the best it can be." For six years, that reminder echoed each morning as he juggled the demands of coaching and the needs of his daughter fighting Ewing sarcoma.

At 12, Drue was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer that had already spread to her lungs. Doctors gave her a grim 30‑percent survival outlook, but the family pursued aggressive chemo, radiation, and a risky surgery that removed part of her hip while preserving her mobility.

Eliot’s coaching résumé spans Kentucky, Kansas, and NC State, with stints in Houston, Miami, and Florida State. Each move kept the family in flux, yet Drue remained the team’s fiercest fan, refusing to let cancer silence her love of the game.

After a scan in September revealed no lung relapse, the family celebrated a rare moment of hope, only to confront new liver cancer days later. Eliot’s wife, Miekel, announced experimental chemo as the last resort. Through it all, Drue’s spirit and the daily phone message kept the family anchored.