It’s been nearly six years since Alex Wilcox, a freshman outfielder on the 2018 Mississippi State softball team, died from ovarian cancer. But Wilcox’s legacy lives on, not just in Starkville but throughout the Southeastern Conference and beyond.
All 13 SEC teams will wear teal or teal-accented uniforms for Saturday’s games as part of the “All for Alex” campaign for the fourth straight year. LSU head coach Beth Torina, whose mother is an ovarian cancer survivor, proposed the idea along with the Bulldogs’ Samantha Ricketts at the SEC coaches’ meetings in the fall of 2019.
Torina started the Geaux Teal Foundation after taking the LSU job to help raise awareness for women of all ages about the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer, which is known as a “silent killer” due to its difficulty to detect in the early stages. Before each SEC game Saturday, a video will play on the scoreboard listing the symptoms, which include shortness of breath, constant fatigue, stomach pain and frequent urination.
“It was such a great cause and something that really weighed on our hearts,” Torina said. “We sat at the table at the SEC meeting and both asked the other coaches in the room to participate in the event. We have such a strong group of coaches, some of the most powerful people in the game are in this group of SEC coaches, so any time we can come together for something, it’s going to be powerful.”
Wilcox, who committed to MSU as a high school freshman, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer midway through her junior year but still had the chance to live out her dream for one season as an SEC softball player. While going through chemotherapy, Wilcox played in eight non-conference games for the Bulldogs in 2018, making three starts as the designated player. She passed away on June 25 of that year.
She recorded three hits in 15 at-bats, with her last hit coming in a midweek game at Samford in her home state of Alabama. Ricketts, an assistant coach at the time under Vann Steudeman, said Wilcox still went through the program’s fitness tests in the fall, and while she never passed, she would keep trying until she threw up.
“She was competitive, she was fiery and she wanted to work hard, even in the midst of it,” Ricketts said. “She’d come in on days when she was feeling good and she’d want to get extra swings in with me. She just found so much joy in playing softball and being around her teammates, that it was hard for you not to smile when you were around her. She never had a bad day, which is just unreal to think of.”
MSU began wearing teal uniforms for select games before Wilcox even arrived on campus, and in September 2018, the Bulldogs retired her No. 8 jersey, making her the first MSU athlete in a women’s sport to receive that honor. Each year since 2019, the Bulldogs have hosted an early-season tournament in Wilcox’s memory called The Snowman.
Another tradition to honor Wilcox was born the fall after her death: a four-minute, 28-second wall sit that MSU players taped themselves participating in. Wilcox completed a wall-sit exercise for that length of time while undergoing chemotherapy during the 2018 season.
“She brought everyone together through her whole fight,” Ricketts said. “Her joy, her faith, her light, that’s why we continue to tell her story, because of just how special she was.”
The conference-wide tradition of wearing teal was supposed to begin in 2020, but with the COVID-19 pandemic canceling that season after just over a month, the SEC went “All for Alex” for the first time in 2021. The practice has since spread beyond the SEC to other programs — South Alabama, where Wilcox’s sister Kassidy played, will participate as well.
No. 16 MSU’s “All for Alex” game Saturday against No. 4 Tennessee will be televised on the SEC Network, giving the potential for a larger audience to learn about Wilcox’s story and spread awareness about ovarian cancer.
“The more people are writing about her, her story and the symptoms, all it does is continue to help us in the fight,” Ricketts said. “That’s ultimately what’s most important. It’s something Alex’s dad still talks about. If sharing the symptoms can help prevent one more young woman from passing away early like Alex did, then it’s worth it. And that’s our goal.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
