TSWA announces college basketball players, coaches of the year

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee’s Grant Williams and Rick Barnes earned Men’s Basketball Player and Coach of the Year accolades while Belmont’s Darby Maggard and Tennessee Tech’s Kim Rosamond garnered Women’s Basketball honors, as announced this week by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association. The players and coaches will be honored during the annual TSWA Hall of Fame dinner set for July 11 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tenn.

Williams established himself as one of the nation’s most versatile and efficient players during the 2018-19 season, averaging 18.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals per game. He made 57 percent from the field and 82 percent at the foul line.

The unanimous First Team All-America selection led the SEC in scoring, becoming the ninth Vol to become the league’s scoring champion, and ranked in the top 10 in the conference in field goal percentage (2nd), free throw percentage (5th), rebounding (7th) and assist/turnover ratio (10th).

Williams became the 10th player ever to win SEC Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons. He helped the Vols (31-6) earn their first Sweet Sixteen bid since 2014 and match the program record for wins in a single season.

Barnes was named the winner of the 2019 Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year Award for guiding the Vols to one the best campaigns in program history. Barnes also won the USBWA’s 2019 Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award, leading Tennessee to a school-record tying 31 wins and a school-record 19-game win streak.

For the first time in school history, Tennessee spent the entire season ranked in the Top 10 nationally and the Vols occupied the No. 1 spot in both major polls for four consecutive weeks. The Vols concluded their season in the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament. It marked the seventh career Sweet Sixteen appearance for Barnes, and in doing so, he became just the 12th head coach to lead at least three different Division I programs to the Round of 16.

Maggard capped a record-breaking career at Belmont, garnering her fourth consecutive First Team All-OVC honor as well as OVC Player of the Year accolades. She averaged a career-high 17.0 points per game with 4.2 assists to lead the Bruins to a fourth straight OVC title and NCAA Tournament appearance.

She also shot 92.9 percent on free throws for the year, including a stretch of 48 straight makes that set the OVC record and ranks 14th on the NCAA’s all-time list. Maggard was named a finalist for the WBCA’s Ann Meyers Drysdale Award for the nation’s top shooting guard and was named to the watch list for the WBCA’s Wade Trophy given to the nation’s top player.

She finished her career with 2,031 points and a school- and OVC-record 430 made 3-pointers, the fourth most made triples in NCAA history. She’s also the only player in NCAA history to make at least 400 3-pointers and dish out 650 assists in her career.

Rosamond was voted OVC Coach of the Year after leading the Golden Eagles to a 22-11 overall record and 12-6 mark in the league. It marked the most overall victories for TTU since 2010-11 and the most conference wins since 2012-13. It was also a 15-win turnaround from 2017-18, with Tech picked to finish seventh in the preseason standings but posting a fourth-place showing.

The Golden Eagles won their first game in the OVC Tournament since 2013 and earned their first postseason bid since 2012, reaching the quarterfinals of the Women’s Basketball Invitational. Tech won its first game in the WBI, the program’s first postseason victories since 2006.

Rosamond also became the first TTU head coach since Marynell Meadors to defeat Middle Tennessee, UT Martin and Belmont in the same season.

Brent, Rick Stockstill garner TSWA college football awards

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee’s Brent and Rick Stockstill were voted Football Player and Coach of the Year, as announced this week by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association. The duo will be honored during the annual TSWA Hall of Fame dinner set for July 11 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tenn.

Rick Stockstill earned Coach of the Year accolades, leading the Blue Raiders to their first Conference USA East Division title and a spot in the C-USA championship game. Middle Tennessee played in the New Orleans Bowl, the team’s school-record fourth straight bowl appearance and fifth in the last six years.

The Blue Raiders ended the season 8-6 overall, including losses to Vanderbilt, Georgia, Kentucky and Appalachian State.

Brent Stockstill garnered Conference USA MVP and First Team All-C-USA honors, finishing his senior season ranked third nationally in completion percentage, ninth in completions per game, 13th in touchdown passes and 15th in passing yards. He threw for 3,544 yards with 29 touchdowns while completing 70.3 percent of his throws, posting five 300-yard passing contests.

He was named a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year and the William V. Campbell Trophy award. Brent Stockstill was recognized as the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week three times during the season as well as the TSWA Offensive Player of the Week three times.

Winners announced for 2018 TSWA writing contest

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Sports Writers Association released the winners of the annual writing contest this week. All of the first, second and third-place winners will be recognized during the Hall of Fame dinner and banquet on Thursday, July 11, in Baird Chapel at Cumberland University. Thanks to Ron Higgins for again coordinating the judging for all of the categories in the annual writing contest.

TSWA 2018 WRITING CONTEST RESULTS
Entries were from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018
Note: There were not enough entries in Division II to judge categories for best columnist, best daily section and best special section. Those who entered those categories were moved to Division I.

DIVISION I
Gary Lundy Writer of the Year: 1. Adam Sparks, The Tennessean – The depth and balance of the winner’s reporting that Vanderbilt’s administration was undercutting fundraising efforts for a football stadium project was the best story among all the Writer of the Year entries. And then he backed it up with two solid features, including a hilarious, revealing look at the Vanderbilt whistlers. 2. John Adams, Knoxville News-Sentinel. 3. Mark Wiedmer, Chattanooga Times-Free Press.

Best Daily Section: No entries.

Best Special Section: 1. Chattanooga Times-Free Press – This might be the only newspaper in America whose preseason football section is a slick 67-page magazine with insightful writing and graphics that rivals any of the best preseason mags on newsstands. For a local paper, this special section edited by Stephen Hargis is a stunning achievement. 2. Union City Messenger. 3. None awarded.

Best Columnist: 1. John Adams, Knoxville News-Sentinel – Columnists sometimes have a tendency to go overboard when hammering home an opinion, but the winner in this category has a nuanced style that’s fun to read. He knows when to take his jabs and keep moving. 2. Mark Wiedmer, Chattanooga Times-Free Press. 3. Cecil Joyce, Daily News Journal.

Best Feature Writer: 1. Adam Sparks, The Tennessean – The winner’s entry ranged the gamut from solid reporting on a story on why Vandy administrators undercut fundraising efforts for a football story project to a light, breezy touch on his feature on the aggravating Vanderbilt whistlers. The winner’s stories proved you don’t have to drone on-and-on to write effective, readable features. 2. Teresa M. Walker, Associated Press. 3. Mark Wiedmer, Chattanooga Free-Press.

Best Event Writer: 1. Mark Wiedmer, Chattanooga Times-Free Press – The easy winner in this category, the writer showed his scribing chops covering three vastly different events – the SEC football championship game, a USA regional boxing qualifier and the funeral of a popular 16-year-old basketball player. The latter two stories required a lot of legwork from the writer and it showed. 2. Adam Sparks, The Tennessean. 3. Teresa M. Walker, Associated Press.

Best News Writer: 1. Adam Sparks, The Tennessean: Had punchy ledes to get readers into story and his story organization was second-to-none. 2. Teresa M. Walker, Associated Press. 3. None awarded.

Best Prep Writer: 1. Tom Kreager, The Tennessean – Loved the balance of the three stories in the winning entry, especially from the standpoint they were all well-researched, had multiple voices in each and had great, crisp writing. There were no wasted words. 2. Stephen Hargis, Chattanooga Times-Free-Press. 3. None awarded.

DIVISION II
Gary Lundy Writer of the Year: 1. Cecil Joyce, Daily News Journal – Had three tremendous story angles, but his feature on the Murfreesboro high school girls basketball player who wears a Muslim hijab and an investigative piece on a renegade prep academy showed writing and reporting depth. The latter story was extremely well-balanced. 2. Luis Torres, Daily News Journal. 3. Kevin Weaks, Union City Messenger.

Best Feature Writer: 1. Cecil Joyce, Daily News Journal – Winner barely edged out second-place finisher. Thought winner had a better variety of story angles, though both had entries involving subjects battling cancer, which seems to be in many writers’ entries. 2. Luis Torres, Daily News Journal. 3. Mark McGee, Shelbyville Times-Gazette.

Best Event Writer: 1. Luis Torres, Daily News Journal – Entries were three MTSU football stories, but it was refreshing to see a writer who could be creative while not ignoring the basics of who, what, when and why. Felt the winner did a good job of making it easy on readers to navigate his stories. 2. Kevin Weaks, Union City Messenger. 3. Cecil Joyce, Daily News Journal.

Best News Writer: 1. Luis Torres, Daily News Journal – Excellent, well-organized stories on MTSU starting beer sales at games, MTSU coach Rick Stockstill exonerated from claims of player abuse and MTSU re-writing coaches’ contracts to include sexual harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence. All these stories answered every question posed by readers. 2. Kevin Weaks, Union City Messenger. 3. None awarded.

Best Prep Writer: 1. Luis Torres, Jackson Sun – Feature on a 17-year-old high school softball player who has twice beaten cancer and has a three-year-old daughter was delicately written and carried his three-story entry. 2. Cecil Joyce, Daily News Journal. 3. Kevin Weaks, Union City Messenger.

DIVISION III
Gary Lundy Writer of the Year: 1. Craig Harris, Macon County Times – Winner showed versatility with a beloved 66-year-old girls high school basketball coach who overcame numerous obstacles, a feature on a girls high school basketball program staging a one-stop-shop practice for college recruiters and a well-organized news story on a high school coach resignation. Winner also stood out with crisp, tight writing. 2. Bill Sorrell, Journal West 10. 3. Randy Cavin, Weakley County Press.

Best Special Section: 1. Weakley County Press, 2018 High School Football Preview – Edited by Randy Cavin, no stone was left unturned in this special section, with high school and middle school previews, plus the handy schedule grid on the back cover. The graphics on the high school team previews weren’t overdone. Solid writing. 2. Macon County Times, 2018 High School Football Preview 3. Journal West 10, 2018 High School Football Preview.

Best Feature Writer: 1. Bill Sorrell, Journal West 10 – All his features were thoroughly reported and written, but his feature on a college baseball player who was declared dead when he was 10 after drowning and survived was magnificent. 2. Randy Cavin, Weakley County Press. 3. Bill Traughber, Nashville Retrospect.

Best News/Event Writer: 1. Craig Harris, Macon County Times – This writer clearly understands story flow and brevity. Never overwrote, never understated. Nice balance of facts and quotes. 2. Bill Sorrell, Journal West 10. 3. Ed Grief, Morgan County Today.

Division IV
Best Feature Writer: 1. Thomas Corhern, Tennessee Tech – Stood out because of his ability to add historical perspective without bogging down stories as well as his smooth story flow and judicious use of quotes. His stuff never seemed forced or overstated. 2. Colby Wilson, Austin Peay 3. Mark McGee, Lipscomb.

Best Event Writer: 1. Thomas Corhern, Tennessee Tech – The winner showed effort and creativity, writing newspaper-quality stories. 2. Phil Stukenborg, University of Memphis. 3. Mike Hutchens, Union City Schools.

Campbell, Fellows garner TSWA weekly awards - May 14

BASEBALL: Austin Peay’s Campbell, Vanderbilt’s Fellows honored with TSWA weekly accolades
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay’s Aaron Campbell and Vanderbilt’s Drake Fellows were named the Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association for their efforts in contests from May 6-12.

Campbell batted .692 (9-for-13) in four games with five doubles, a home run, 10 RBIs and six runs scored for the Governors. The Ellendale, Tenn., native doubled twice, collected three hits and walked once, scoring a run in a mid-week contest at Tennessee.

The senior posted a two-run double in the first inning in the series opener at Eastern Illinois but left the game because of injury. He returned on Saturday and was 4-for-6 with three runs scored and seven RBIs, including a grand slam in the first inning. Campbell added an RBI single in the second, a run-scoring double in the third and a sacrifice fly in the seventh in APSU’s record-setting 34-hit attack versus the Panthers.

He finished the series with an RBI single and two walks, scoring a run. Campbell is batting .358 with 12 doubles, two homers, 23 RBIs and 21 runs scored in just 95 at-bats this season.

Fellows struck out a career-high 11 batters while allowing one earned run on four hits in seven innings in a 5-2 victory over Missouri. The Plainfield, Ill., native recorded his SEC-best 10th victory and 20th career win for the Commodores.

The righthander retired the side in order in the second, fourth, fifth and seventh innings and posted two of his 11 punchouts to end the sixth with the tying run at the plate for the Tigers. He set down 14-of-15 hitters from the end of the first until a one-out walk in the sixth and left the contest with a perfect seventh.

Fellows upped his mark this season to 10-0 in 13 starts covering 79.1 innings, giving up 71 hits with 94 strikeouts. Opponents are batting .237 against him this season.

2019 TSWA BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
February 19 – Lake Burris, Bryan College (Player); Trey Holland, University of the South (Pitcher)
March 1 – JJ Bleday, Vanderbilt (Player); Peyton Wigginton, Middle Tennessee (Pitcher)
March 6 – Aaron Antonini, Middle Tennessee (Player); Chase Douglas, Trevecca University (Pitcher)
March 13 – Ethan Paul, Vanderbilt (Player); Samuel Joiner, Maryville College (Pitcher)
March 21 – Javier Lopez, Trevecca University (Player); Charles Hall, Tusculum University (Pitcher)
March 26 – Stephen Scott, Vanderbilt (Player); Drake Fellows, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)
April 3 – JJ Bleday, Vanderbilt (Player); Mason Hickman, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)
April 9 – Myles Christian, Middle Tennessee (Player); Jordan Davis, Maryville College (Pitcher)
April 16 – Javier Lopez, Trevecca University (Player); Garrett Stallings, Tennessee (Pitcher)
April 24 – Matt Joslin, Austin Peay (Player); Jake Roberson, Trevecca University (Pitcher)
May 1 – Hunter Holland, Belmont (Player); Kumar Rocker, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)
May 8 – JJ Bleday, Vanderbilt (Player); Cole Alsup, Trevecca University (Pitcher)

Baseball players of the week honored by TSWA - May 8

BASEBALL: Vanderbilt’s Bleday, Trevecca’s Alsup honored with TSWA weekly accolades
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt’s JJ Bleday and Trevecca University’s Cole Alsup were named the Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association for their efforts in contests from April 29-May 5.

Bleday batted .461 (6-for-13) with two home runs, five RBIs and six walks in four games for the Commodores, becoming the program’s single-season leader in homers. The Panama City Beach, Fla.,  native walked and scored a pair of runs versus Tennessee Tech and belted a two-run homer among his two hits and two runs scored in the first game of a series at South Carolina.

The junior outfielder posted two hits with a two-run triple along with three walks in the second contest versus the Gamecocks. He added two more hits in the series finale, including the game-breaking homer, a solo shot in the seventh, passing the previous mark set by Pedro Alvarez in 2006.

Bleday is batting .349 with nine doubles, 23 homers, 61 RBIs and 61 runs scored along with 40 walks in 48 games this season.

Alsup tossed six scoreless innings, allowing one run with two strikeouts in a victory against the Ohio Valley University. The Mt. Juliet, Tenn., native faced just two batters over the minimum in his six innings of work, inducing a pair of ground-ball doubleplays to offset four walks.

The freshman lefthander has posted a 2-1 mark with a 2.35 ERA in 23.0 innings over the second half of the season, giving up only five hits with seven strikeouts in six appearances.

2019 TSWA BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
February 19 – Lake Burris, Bryan College (Player); Trey Holland, University of the South (Pitcher)
March 1 – JJ Bleday, Vanderbilt (Player); Peyton Wigginton, Middle Tennessee (Pitcher)
March 6 – Aaron Antonini, Middle Tennessee (Player); Chase Douglas, Trevecca University (Pitcher)
March 13 – Ethan Paul, Vanderbilt (Player); Samuel Joiner, Maryville College (Pitcher)
March 21 – Javier Lopez, Trevecca University (Player); Charles Hall, Tusculum University (Pitcher)
March 26 – Stephen Scott, Vanderbilt (Player); Drake Fellows, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)
April 3 – JJ Bleday, Vanderbilt (Player); Mason Hickman, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)
April 9 – Myles Christian, Middle Tennessee (Player); Jordan Davis, Maryville College (Pitcher)
April 16 – Javier Lopez, Trevecca University (Player); Garrett Stallings, Tennessee (Pitcher)
April 24 – Matt Joslin, Austin Peay (Player); Jake Roberson, Trevecca University (Pitcher)
May 1 – Hunter Holland, Belmont (Player); Kumar Rocker, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)