2003 Rancher 350 won’t start via pull cord or electric start

Unfortunately I don’t know what happened to cause this. My kids friend was riding it and said it ran out of gas. After filling it up, it hasn’t started since. It wouldn’t even try to turn over and the pull start cord won’t pull. It completely stops after 4 inches. Checked electricity on electric start and found the Starter relay wasn’t working. Replaced it and tried starting it again. It tried to turn over a few times, intermittently, then sounded like it seized up and won’t turn over anymore. My fear is the engine seized up, but it had/has plenty of oil. I hear the starter relay clicking when I try to start it, but nothing happens. Next step is replacing the starter, but I’m worried about the pull start not working. Could it be seized up? Also don’t know how all of this could have happened from just running out of gas, if that’s all that really happened. Any ideas would be appreciated. I’ve been banging my head against the wall for over two months now.