DALLAS – Conference USA announced 12 student-athletes as the Winter Spirit of Service Award winners on Thursday. The award honors student-athletes with significant participation in community service, good academic standing and stellar contribution to their sport.
 
2026 Winter Spirit of Service Award Recipients
Leah Clear, Delaware Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Jr.
Tyniece Barclay, FIU Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Jr. 
Melia Mitskavich, Jax State Bowling, Jr.
Kenadie Singleton, Kennesaw State Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Jr.
Caroline Shiery, Liberty Women’s Basketball, Sr.
Kylee Trexler, LA Tech Bowling, Jr.
Alec Oglesby, MTSU Men’s Basketball, Gr.
Mary Margaret Harris, Missouri State Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Gr.
Anthony Wrzeszcz, NM State Men’s Basketball, Sr.
Cheikh Ndiaye, Sam Houston Men’s Basketball, So.
Zacarias Velasquez, UTEP Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Sr.
Haley Zell, WKU Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Jr.
 
While maintaining a 3.84 GPA, Delaware’s Leah Clear serves her community by volunteering at the Faithful Friends Animal Society, taking care of dogs and cats while they await their future owners. She also promotes the shelter on her social pages to help generate attention for the organization and the animals. The junior has earned Dean’s List honors every semester and was a 2025 CUSA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and Academic Medal recipient, while majoring in Biomedical Engineering. She finished 11th in the mile and was a member of the DMR team that finished sixth at the 2026 CUSA Indoor Track and Field Championships. The team DMR time of 11:54.41 ranks sixth all-time in program history. Clear currently ranks 10th all-time in program history in the mile at 4:56.32.
 
FIU’s Tyniece Barclay has been heavily involved in community service in Miami, dedicating her time to volunteering at a local elementary school, supporting holiday events and assisting with field day activities, helping create memorable experiences for young students. In addition, her weekly involvement as a lunch buddy has allowed her to build meaningful, one-on-one connections, offering encouragement and companionship to children who benefit from positive interaction. Barclay maintains an impressive 3.92 GPA while pursuing a degree in Psychology and Liberal Studies. She has earned a spot on the Dean’s List every semester, along with being a three-time CUSA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and Academic Medal recipient.

Second-year bowler Melia Mitskavich has been a member of SAAC for the past two years at Jacksonville State. She has been active in participating in the Suicide Prevention Awareness Walk, High Five Fridays, Toyland Toy Drive and Mental Health Awareness Month. Mitskavich holds a 4.0 GPA majoring in Biology-Pre Health. She earned a spot on the Junior Team USA during the Junior Gold Championships and U22 Queens in 2025. This season, she helped guide her team to claim the 2026 CUSA Bowling Championship title. The Gamecocks advanced to the Final Four of the National Collegiate Bowling Championships, taking place on Friday, April 10 after winning the Lansing Regional.
 
Kenadie Singleton, the junior from Kennesaw State, has helped with community opportunities such as Mission 1:27 Adventure Center, the Atlanta Track Club and the Omicron Iota Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. Academically, Singleton has earned Top Flight Owl recognition, an honor for students earning a 3.0 or better. The Warner Robbins, Georgia, native helped the Owls earn the 2026 CUSA Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championship title, where she clocked a personal-best time of 7.35 seconds in the 60-meter dash to take home the gold medal and establish a new school record.
 
Liberty’s Caroline Shiery serves her community by completing over 250 community service hours within Lynchburg with Dollar Makes a Difference, Trick or Treat so Others Can Eat, Hop on Pop, Learn Like Liberty, Literacy Pep Rally, Amazing Mile, Bingo at Runk and Pratt, ASPIRE Class, Hawaiian mission trip outreach, Haiti mission trip, Israel mission trip and Liberty Women’s Basketball kids clinics. Shiery has been a consistent member of the CUSA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and Dean’s List. She served as the team captain this season while battling back from an injury she suffered during the 2024-25 season.
 
Louisiana Tech bowler Kylee Trexler is a SAAC member and serves as the Co-President. She has been a standout in the community and academically, working with programs such as Louisiana Tech Sports Performance Institute, Boys and Girls Club and Special Olympics. Trexler also assisted with yardwork for a Ruston citizen who recently had back surgery and helped organize and conduct the canned food drive for SAAC. Her many academic achievements include being a CUSA Commissioner’s Academic Medalist and making the CUSA Commissioner’s Honor Roll, CSC Academic All-District, NTCA All-Academic, the Dean’s List, the President’s List and the AD Honor Roll.
 
Alec Oglesby, the graduate student from Middle Tennessee, has volunteered at the Adams Place, a local senior living center assisting with their annual Ride ‘n Slide, helping residents down an outdoor slip-and-slide. He has also helped with Read Across America and Murfreesboro Miracle League, helping local special needs individuals hit, run bases and field. Oglesby has been a member of the CUSA Honor Roll and Dean’s List. On the court, he led the team in three-point shooting percentage at 40.9 percent with 61 made triples. On Jan. 2 against LA Tech, Oglesby tallied a career-high 25 points, knocking down eight three-pointers, which tied for the second most three-pointers in a single game in Blue Raiders history.  
 
Now working towards her MBA, Missouri State indoor track athlete Mary Margaret Harris has remained active in community service opportunities by reading and assisting teachers at Roundtree Elementary, Sunshine Elementary and Marshfield High School. She also participates in street clean ups, Convoy of Hope and the SAAC food drive. Harris was named a Maroon and White Scholar in 2025 and has been a consistent Athletic Director’s Honor Roll honoree.
 
While at New Mexico State, senior guard Anthony Wrzeszcz has helped perform numerous acts of community service in the city of Las Cruces. He has volunteered for the Boys and Girls Club, El Caldito Soup Kitchen, Carlsbad/Hobbs Basketball Camps, Sixth Man Tailgate, Thanksgiving Meal Distribution and the Special Olympics UCS Basketball Game at Mayfield High School. This year, Wrzeszcz was on the CUSA Academic Honor Roll List. The Gdynia, Poland native appeared in all 32 games for the Aggies averaging 7.4 points per game, while shooting 36 percent from the field and 33 percent from beyond the arc.
 
Sam Houston men’s basketball player Cheikh Ndiaye is a SAAC member and serves on the SAAC Executive Leadership Team. He has poured into the Huntsville community, working with multiple programs such as the Boys and Girls Club, Huntsville Public School Mentor, Ronald McDonald House Supply Donation Drive, HEB Sponsor Participation/In Store, School Supply Drive, CASA, Ambassador for the Athletic Department, Liaison Title IX Steal for Teal Education Programs, Mental Health Campus Program and Director of Athletics meeting host. In the classroom, Ndiaye has maintained a GPA of 3.02 while majoring in Business Administration.
 
UTEP’s Zacarias Velasquez has collected many hours of community service, working with programs such as El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank and Rescue Runners of El Paso. He has maintained excellent academic standing, boasting a 3.91 GPA pursuing a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. The senior is a three-time CUSA Commissioner Academic Honor Roll recipient and a 2025 CUSA Commissioner’s Academic Medalist. Velasquez’s athletic achievements include finishing first in the men’s long jump at the 2026 Miners Invitational with a 7.15-meter leap (23-5.5) and at the Jarvis Scott Invitational, he clocked in a personal-best 22.49 in the men’s 200-meter.
 
WKU’s Haley Zell has made an immediate and meaningful impact in her first full academic year as a member of SAAC, demonstrating strong leadership and commitment to service. She has taken initiative in organizing and tracking community service hours for the entire track and field team, ensuring each student-athlete meets and exceeds 15 hours. She has contributed more than 30 hours to the Bowling Green community during the fall with numerous local outreach programs, including volunteering with Curbside Ministries, Dance Big Red, High Five Fridays, the Humane Society, Bat Out Breast Cancer events, and canned food drives. Zell was named to the CUSA Commissioner’s Academic Medal and Honor Roll List while boasting a 3.77 GPA, majoring in Exercise Science. She also serves as the Director of Academic Enrichment for Alpha Gamma Delta. Her athletic achievements include recording a career-best 8.08 in the 60-meter dash during the 2026 indoor season and posting a top-10 finish in the long jump at the Vanderbilt Invitational.