COLUMBIA, Mo. – The SEC sponsors Community Service Teams for all 21 league sponsored sports. The Community Service Team looks to highlight an athlete from each school who gives back to their community in superior service efforts. The 2018 SEC Softball Community Service Team is as follows:
Reagan Dykes, Junior, Catcher, Alabama
Dykes led the team in community service hours this year, volunteering extensively with Big Brothers Big Sisters of West Alabama. She serves as a mentor for a third-grade girl and helps her with academic skills such as math and reading, social skills and self-confidence as well as giving advice on any family issues that may be bothering her. Dykes also assisted in the University’s efforts with Hurricane Harvey relief last September, collecting supplies and loading them onto trucks to be sent to areas in need in Texas.
Loren Krzysko, Senior, Outfielder, Arkansas
Krzysko completed a 150-hour internship called Fitness for Fun during the Fall 2017 semester in which she served as provided free personal training. She also continued her work (2013-17) with the Blessing Baskets organization that makes Thanksgiving meal baskets for Cross Church and handed them out to the homeless and families in the Northwest Arkansas area. Krzysko was also involved in food drives that gathered and distributed items to local food shelters. She has participated in Blue Heron Thanksgiving Brunch Delivery back in her hometown that delivered Thanksgiving meals to the elderly and home bound. Krzysko was named one of three finalists for the Lee Spencer Cup Individual honor at the 2018 HOGSPY Awards, which recognizes a student-athlete and his or her dedication to community service and outreach programs. In the classroom, She was a December 2017 graduate while maintaining a 3.65 cumulative grade-point average (GPA) as a kinesiology major with a specified focus on exercise applied science.
Victoria Draper, Redshirt Senior, Outfielder, Auburn
Draper volunteered with Toiletries for Silver Bells Drive and for Student Athlete Day, an event for fifth graders to see a day in the life of college athletics and a push for them to stay active. She has also volunteered with KPMG Family for Literacy (KFFL) by donating, sorting and reading children’s books in low income areas. Draper has assisted with Move-In Mania the last three years, helping students move into their dorm rooms. Last December, she worked with Christmas Angels, sponsoring a child for Christmas gifts and in the fall, she made monthly visits to the Oak Park Nursing Home to eat with those that do not have regular family to visit them. Draper is an active member of her church and served as a volunteer on the first Sunday every month at the Church of the Highlands Serve Day. She has worked multiple times with the Auburn Christian Women’s Job Corp, serving and cleaning a local church. Draper has also made several visits to hospitals and worked softball camps. She regularly donates to the annual SAAC Toys for Tots Holiday Drive and the Beat Bama Food Drive.
Kelly Barnhill, Junior, Pitcher, Florida
Barnhill spent her time volunteering across numerous activities and organizations over the past year. She was involved in UF’s Gator Tracks initiative, which is one of the University Athletic Association’s biggest events during the fall semester. Gator Tracks provides shoes for students across seven schools in Alachua County that are on free or reduced lunch. She helped wrap and deliver 450 pairs of shoes to those in need. Barnhill’s service also included spending time at UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital and hand-making Valentine’s Day cards for its patients, playing kickball with the Alachua County Special Olympics group, serving at a first responder’s breakfast and visiting P.K. Yonge Development Research School for a Brain Break, where she helped lead a class in exercises and teaching healthy eating habits.
Brittany Gray, Senior, Pitcher, Georgia
Gray is actively involved in multiple community service activities on the Georgia campus in Athens. She has volunteered for such things as Chess & Community as well as the Special Olympics Baseball Game and the Special Olympics Prom. Gray has also worked on the “Safe Routes” to school program at Barrow Elementary School. She spent her time aiding at the Foodbank of Northeast Georgia “Hunger Bowl” and with supply relief efforts following Hurricane Harvey,
Brooklin Hinz, Senior, Outfielder, Kentucky
Hinz has been the team’s SAAC representative, helping student-athletes on the team and other teams around the department stay involved in the community. She worked with God’s Pantry to help pack lunch bags for underprivileged kids in the Lexington area, and then delivered them to local elementary schools around the area. Hinz put in over 100 hours of community service while at St. Thomas Aquinas High School and over 45 logged hours while at UK.
Elyse Thornhill, Junior, Utility, LSU
Thornhill leads the team in community service hours. She volunteers at the Friends of Animals animal shelter. Thornhill also was a Hurricane Harvey volunteer in the fall and helped out with tours at the Knock Knock Children’s Museum. She assisted in LSU’s Move-In Day, helping new students getting acclimated in the dorms and played a role in both of LSU’s Halloween BooZar and Thanksgiving with the Tigers events. Thornhill helped out with Sylvia’s Toys for Children during the holidays in December. She most recently been a part of the annual Teal Walk and LSU’s Geaux Play day.
Paige McKinney, Senior, Shortstop, Ole Miss
McKinney has volunteered each of the past two years at Batson Children’s Hospital in Jackson, Miss., spending time with children battling cancer. She participated in Horizons Summer Program, and educational program that serves to fight poverty through education. McKinney also participated in Read Across America each of the past two years, reading to the children of Oxford Intermediate School. She is a National Student Speech Language Hearing Association Member. McKinney volunteered at Hermitage Gardens Nursing home during a three-week service learning project. She also served meals to members of the Oxford-Lafayette Community through More than a Meal. McKinney participated in Adopt a Basket, a program that serves to collect items and feed families during the Thanksgiving holiday. She assisted in hurricane/tornado relief, collecting canned goods and other items for victims of the South Carolina flood and Columbus, Mississippi tornado. McKinney participated in the National Girls and Women in Sports Clinic and volunteered all four years during Ole Miss softball’s summer, fall and winter camps. She is the Ole Miss’ nominee for the H. Boyd McWhorter Post-Graduate Scholarship. McKinney is also a Taylor Medal nominee, the highest honor awarded at Ole Miss. A seven-time Chancellor’s Honor Roll honoree, she landed on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll all semesters. McKinney is a member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and a two-time recipient of the Easton/NFCA Division I Al-American Scholar Athlete Award. She was named to the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll and the SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll each of the past two seasons.
Carmen Carter, Senior, Outfield, Mississippi State
Carter has been involved in various projects, such as building housing as part of Habitat for Humanity, volunteering for the T.K. Martin Fun Run, and stopping by the local elementary school to read to children with the Reading Railroad. She has also volunteered with United We Feed, which holds food drives to restock local food pantries. In the winter, you can find Carter ringing the bells as part of the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign with her teammates. She has helped bring awareness to women’s health as part of the Pink Dawg Walk and with her teammates every midweek contest by donning teal as part of MSU softball’s “No One Fights Alone” campaign. An animal lover, Carter has volunteered with Cedar Hill Animal Sanctuary, helping to rebuild facilities. Most recently, she and her teammates gave back to the Starkville Police Department, volunteering her time to do yard work for local officers to show appreciation for their time. Carter is actively involved with the Mississippi State M-Club, which is an organization of former MSU student-athletes. The organization unites current and former student-athletes, keeping alums connected to the university, updating alums on changes to university polices, and growing the spirit and involvement of MSU Athletics beyond Starkville.
Paige Bange, Senior, Utility, Missouri
In her four years at Missouri, Bange has accumulated nearly 50 hours of service. She has volunteered her time at institutions such as the Mid-Missouri Food Bank, Special Olympics, Columbia Elementary School Reading Day and visits to patients at the University of Missouri Children’s Hospital. Bange is a two-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, a three-time member of the Human Environmental Sciences Dean’s List and a member of the 2014-15 SEC First Year Academic Honor Roll.
Jordyn Augustus, Senior, Catcher, South Carolina
Augustus has completed 116 hours of community service this year. She has worked with a therapeutic recreation baseball team. Augustus has helped out at the Food Drive Frenzy and as a CCD teacher at her church. She has worked at a nursing home, at the 9/11 Tunnel to Towers 5K, at the Purple Stride 5K, and with Families Helping Families. Augustus coached a 14U softball camp and volunteered as a huddle leader at two FCA camps this past summer. She is a three-time NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete. Augustus was the 2018 recipient of the Brad Davis Outstanding Community Service Scholarship for her commitment to community service and will graduate with leadership distinction in community service.
Meghan Gregg, Senior, Shortstop, Tennessee
This season, Gregg volunteered for the 2017 Challenger Games, the 2017 Voloween, MLK March, and the Softball Meet & Greet. Last year, she worked with the Voleaders Trip to Brazil, the 2016 Challenger Game, the 2016 Voloween, Light the Night, the Take Back the Night, Thanksgiving SAAC, MLK Walk, and the Softball Meet & Greet. During her sophomore year, Gregg was a part of Autism Speaks, the Challenger Game, Take Back the Night, 6u Softball Party with Imagination Forrest, the 2015 Voloween, MLK March, Goals for Girls, and the Basketball Meet & Greet. During the summer of 2016, she took part in the VOLeaders Academy's 13-day study-abroad trip to Brazil where she and fellow Tennessee student-athletes learned about the nation's culture and used sports as a means to enact positive change. On the trip, Gregg interacted with Brazilian youth, worked with children in orphanages and volunteered at various sport skill camps. She was selected by her coaches to take part in the VOLeaders Academy. Gregg is a nominee for the 2018 H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship. She was named the 2018 Georgia Peach of an Athlete Role Model. Gregg is a Vol Scholar and a member of SAAC. In 2017, she was selected as an Easton/NFCA Scholar-Athlete and a CoSIDA Academic All-American. A two-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, Gregg has been named to the Tennessee Dean’s list five times.
Erica Russell, Senior, Outfielder, Texas A&M
Russell has been a part of several community service projects during her time in College Station. She has participated in the Down Syndrome Game, playing softball and interacting with kids with Down Syndrome. Russell assisted and umpired softball games at the Special Olympics. She volunteered with the Aggies CAN Food Drive, receiving cans and raising money for the largest student-athlete food drive in the nation. With Girl Scouts of America, Russell helped host a camp to teach girls the game of softball. She walked with survivors of ovarian cancer and for those who passed away from the disease at the Ovarian Cancer Walk. Russell has helped her church set up for the Christmas season for the past three years.