Will Smith Awards Honor Young Leaders

The 2025 Will Smith Leadership Award recipients were honored at a ceremony last month at Great Mills High School.

The Will Smith Leadership Award program was established in 2009 to recognize eighth-grade participants in the St. Mary’s County Recreation & Parks youth basketball program. The award is named after R&P basketball alumnus Will Smith, who lost his life on September 21, 2008, while he was a student at Becker College in Massachusetts.

The ceremony February 16 was attended by Will’s parents, Jeanne and William, and his brother, Timothy. Awards were presented by Raymond Bivens, director of St. Mary’s County Recreation & Parks.

“Presenting this award to these young men and women is medicine for us,” said Jeanne Smith, Will’s mother. “Will was a hurricane — for 19 years he went through life with the biggest smile, offering a hand to anybody.”

The award recognizes players who participate in the league from 6th-8th grades and demonstrate sportsmanship, passion for the game, and leadership on and off the court.

The 2025 Recipients of the Will Smith Leadership Award are:

Aiden Mills
Alex Pope
Antonio White
Blake Fleming
Brody Lynch
Brooklyn Gray
Chandler Boyd
Cooper Wieber
Demi Carroll
Desiree Dyson
Gaige Wenk
Jack Loewe
Jacob Copeland
Jamar Somerville
Jamarion Jefferson
Keimari Baskin
Kendrick Berry
Khloe Jarman
Liam Klier
Makhai Berry
Maxwell Shubrooks
Nasir Hebb
Noah Earhart
Quintin Dorn