Larry Pickett Jr.

Larry Pickett Jr. is an American college football safety and a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He plays for the Army Black Knights and wears No. 22.

Pickett Jr. became a national news figure in 2025 after he and his father pulled a driver from a burning, electrified vehicle in Fort Montgomery, New York. The rescue drew coverage from ESPN, West Point and the U.S. Army, and led to a series of institutional honors, including the Army's Soldier's Medal.

He is listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 206 pounds and was 20 years old at the time of the rescue. He is not a professional athlete and has no commercial wealth or organized fanbase; his public profile rests on that single act of heroism and the recognition that followed. [edit]

Larry Pickett Jr. grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, and graduated from Enloe High School, where he played football. ESPN's player page lists Raleigh as his birthplace, and local outlets consistently identify him as an Enloe graduate.

He enrolled at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point as a member of the Class of 2028, styled in official communications as CDT Larry Pickett Jr. '28. At West Point he joined the Army football program as a safety. Coverage from Army athletics and the American Athletic Conference frames his decision around a call to service rather than athletic stardom.

Sources do not detail his childhood, family upbringing beyond his father's presence, or his recruitment path to West Point. His pre-fame story is essentially his choice to attend USMA and play football there. [edit]

Pickett Jr.'s football career at Army has been tracked through roster listings: he was a sophomore safety in the 2025 season and a junior in 2026, per ESPN. His on-field statistics and depth-chart role beyond those listings are not detailed in available sources.

His public career milestone came off the field. In August 2025, while riding home with his family, he and his father came upon a crash scene in Fort Montgomery, New York, with downed power lines, a car on fire and a driver near death. The pair pulled the driver from the burning vehicle. West Point's official social media saluted the cadets and his father, and the West Point Association of Graduates ran the story as "Cadet Courage."

ESPN's long-form feature "The hope and heroism of Army safety Larry Pickett Jr." in December 2025 detailed the scene and aftermath. The rescued man publicly called Pickett Jr. a hero. Honors followed: the 2025 Army West Point Heroism Award at the Fox Nation Patriot Awards; a City of Raleigh proclamation declaring December 10, 2025 "Larry Pickett Day"; and the U.S. Army's Soldier's Medal, reported in March 2026. He was also nominated for the 2025 Capital One Orange Bowl–FWAA Courage Award and named to the Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Watch List, one of 67 players recognized. [edit]

Pickett Jr.'s public image is that of a soldier-cadet and hero. Media coverage centers on service, courage, and faith-and-family framing, with institutional coverage from West Point and the Army emphasizing duty and character rather than athletics stardom. He maintains an X account, @LarryPickettJr1, though follower counts are not given in the sources. [edit]

Larry Pickett Jr. is not a celebrity in the conventional sense. iFANN has not collected fame-ranking data for him, and he holds no published placement in the Global Fame Rankings. His recognition is tied to a single news event and the institutional honors that followed, rather than to a sustained public career.

There is no documented fandom name, fan campaign or fan-organized project for Pickett Jr. His following is general college-football and news interest rather than an organized fanbase. The audience that follows him consists of Army football supporters, West Point alumni and news readers who encountered the rescue story. [edit]

The rescue happened far from any battlefield, a point West Point itself emphasized: "sometimes it occurs far from the battlefield."

He and his father were honored together at home in Raleigh with a joint proclamation.

His father, Larry Pickett Sr., separately received the Carnegie Medal in September 2026 for the same rescue; coverage frames that honor around the father specifically.

Pickett Jr. wears No. 22 for Army and was listed as a sophomore in 2025 and a junior in 2026. [edit]

Pickett Jr.'s father, Larry Pickett Sr., was with him during the August 2025 rescue and is a central figure in the story. The two were traveling home as a family when they encountered the crash. His father received the Carnegie Medal in September 2026 for the rescue. No other family members, siblings, spouse or children are documented in the sources. [edit]

Army Black Knights football, U.S. Military Academy at West Point, his father Larry Pickett Sr. [edit]

No public romantic relationships, engagements, marriages or dating history are documented in any source. There is no evidence he is married or has children. As of 2026, the only relationship consistently described is with his father and family, with whom he was traveling during the rescue. His current status is single as far as the public record shows. [edit]

No credible source provides a net-worth estimate for Larry Pickett Jr. He is a cadet and an amateur college athlete, not a professional earner, so celebrity net-worth figures do not exist for him. Any number presented as his net worth would be fabricated. His income is effectively a cadet stipend plus amateur athletics, not commercial wealth. iFANN's own editorial research places his current financial position at approximately $50 Thousand as of 2026, reflecting stipend-level income rather than any commercial or endorsement earnings. [edit]

Pickett Jr. has received the Army West Point Heroism Award at the Fox Nation Patriot Awards (2025) and the U.S. Army Soldier's Medal (2026). The City of Raleigh proclaimed December 10, 2025 "Larry Pickett Day" in his honor. [edit]