News Release from Texas A&M Athletics:
BIRMINGHAM – Texas A&M’s Tyrece Radford was named to the SEC Community Service Team for men’s basketball for the 2023-24 season, the league office announced on Wednesday.
A transformational figure in Aggie Basketball history, Radford, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has exemplified leadership and toughness in his three seasons in Aggieland after transferring to Texas A&M from Virginia Tech.
Off the court, “Boots” created a non-profit organization that focuses on students from kindergarten-to-8th grade and its teachers in Texas and his home state of Louisiana called “TheReceWay Foundation.” Radford’s foundation provides school supplies and shoes for young people each school year.
In its first year, “TheReceWay” out-fitted four young people, but has grown to 8-to-10 recipients this year. Additionally, “TheReceWay” began honoring a teacher this school year with a gift package, which was homemade bath soaps and bath salts. Radford recognizes the problem of food insecurity, and his foundation also provides pregame meals for local high school students in Louisiana.
Perhaps Radford’s greatest impact came from the simple act of cutting his hair. When he learned in the fall of 2022 that his former academic counselor at Virginia Tech, Alise Svihla, had been diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer and chemotherapy was causing hair loss, Radford immediately went to the barber and had his trademark dreadlocks cut off in solidarity with Svihla’s fight. He sent a video of his haircut to Svihla, and she shared his selfless act with the world on social media.
While serving as a beacon of hope for Svihla, the video also brought attention to the devastating effects of colon cancer and helped raise more than $30,000 to help cover her medical costs. Later in the 2022-23 season, when the Aggies were wearing special pink uniforms for breast cancer awareness, Radford received permission to put Svihla’s name on the back of his jersey to honor his academic mentor and friend.
This marks the 26th year for the SEC Community Service Team for men’s basketball. All 21 league-sponsored sports have had a Community Service Team since 2004, with at-large teams for men’s and women’s sports being chosen from 1999-2003. The SEC began this concept with a football Community Service Team in 1994.
2023-24 SEC Community Service Team for Men’s Basketball
Max Scharnowski, Alabama
Lawson Blake, Arkansas
Chaney Johnson, Auburn
Silas Demary Jr., Georgia
Brennan Canada, Kentucky
Jordan Wright, LSU
Jaemyn Brakefield, Ole Miss
Jimmy Bell Jr., Mississippi State
Mabor Majak, Missouri
Zachary Davis, South Carolina
Jahmai Mashack, Tennessee
Tyrece Radford, Texas A&M
Ezra Manjon, Vanderbilt