NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Sports Writers Association announced winners in its annual writing contest on Wednesday, which includes stories written between Jan. 1, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2025. Special thanks to Ron Higgins for coordinating the judging of the contest again this year.
TSWA 2026 WRITING CONTEST RESULTS
(Stories written between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2025)
DIVISION 1
GARY LUNDY WRITER OF THE YEAR
1. Adam Sparks, Knoxville News-Sentinel 2. Tim Buckley, The Daily Memphian 3. Teresa M. Walker, The Associated Press.
Judges’ comment: "The gap between first place and the rest of the field is as wide as the Grand Canyon. What sets this writer apart from the rest is simple. He provides answers before the reader can think of questions. Three solid stories, but the one on the inner workings of Tennessee’s NIL operation, especially how revenue sharing is split and what determines how each football player is paid, is groundbreaking. For a reporter to be granted this access by the Tennessee athletic department reveals how respected he is as a professional journalist. Such trust is the ultimate compliment.”
BEST COLUMNIST
1. John Adams, Knoxville News-Sentinel 2. Tim Buckley, The Daily Memphian 3. Stephen Hargis, Chattanooga Times-Free Press.
Judges’ comments: "A good columnist should draw a range of emotions from readers. And that’s not easy unless you write with clarity or perspective or humor or a bit of all three. The winner in this category is a pitcher mixing his pitches. He’ll throw a fastball, like his harsh criticism of a UT football player, who did nothing but cash his NIL checks before quitting and transferring. He’ll throw a curve by rationalizing that any UT football fan traveling to Ohio State for a CFP game effectively contributed to OSU’s NIL fund. He’ll throw a change-up with his tribute to UT baseball coach Tony Vitello after Vitello was named manager of the San Francisco Giants.”
BEST FEATURE WRITER
1. Adam Sparks, Knoxville News-Sentinel 2. John Varlas, The Daily Memphian 3. Teresa M. Walker, The Associated Press.
Judges’ comments: "Where to begin? Maybe with a well-organized in-depth piece on Tennessee’s NIL program, full of surprises, facts and info. Then there’s the in-depth feature on well-traveled UT starting QB Joey Aguilar. The lede – “In 2019, six years before Joey Aguilar was Tennessee’s quarterback, he stood alone in the dark at a train station in Antioch, California” – is an immediate attention grabber.”
BEST EVENT WRITER
1. Drew Hill, The Daily Memphian 2. Teresa M. Walker, The Associated Press 3. Frank Bonner, The Daily Memphian.
Judges’ comments: "Critics say readers don’t read game stories anymore. The obvious winner in this category has developed an engaging style in his Memphis Grizzlies’ game stories. He opens with a multi-voiced mini-feature on a key player or moment in the game. He eventually transitions to other elements, separating them into subheads. He combines observation, quotes and perspective. His stories flow.”
BEST NEWS WRITER
1. Teresa M. Walker, The Associated Press 2. Frank Bonner, The Daily Memphian 3. None awarded.
Judges’ comments: "Good old-fashioned reporting throughout the trio of varied stories by the winner. This wasn’t regurgitated press conference entries. You can see the legwork and the phone calls made, especially on the Titans’ receiver indicted on a misdemeanor charge of failing to report felony aggravated assault to law enforcement.”
BEST PREP WRITER
1. John Varlas, The Daily Memphian 2. Stephen Hargis, Chattanooga Times-Free Press 3. None awarded.
Judges’ comments: "The first-place winner writes like someone with decades of perspective on the prep beat. His trio of stories was strong, but his obit on the passing of a long-time Memphis-area baseball coach was an amazing tribute.”
BEST INVESTIGATIVE/SERIES
1. Adam Sparks, Knoxville News-Sentinel 2. Drew Hill, Daily Memphian 3. None awarded.
Judges’ comments: "A thorough and stunning investigative series on a former Tennessee walk-on football receiver who was hired as a consultant for the football program while being employed by On3 and scamming investors in one of his former business ventures. Excellent job of reporting and explaining a tangled web of deceit.”
BEST SPECIAL SECTIONS (ALL DIVISIONS COMBINED)
1. Union City Messenger 2. The Daily Times 3. Chattanooga Times-Free Press
Judges’ comments: "It’s obvious the state of Tennessee takes its high school football seriously. The preseason sections submitted by various publications were as thorough as the limitations of space and advertising would allow. The winner has a formula that works. It has an abundance of advertisers, which allows it to publish four separate eight-page sections, with one section each for its primary high schools and its lone college. These sections have pertinent graphics, huge color pictures, excellent writing and pullout season schedules. While it is not as appealing graphically as the slick magazine-style entry of the second-place finisher, it is easier for the reader to navigate. And kudos to the runner-up. Their section could hang with any larger circulation paper.”
NOTE: DID NOT HAVE MULTIPLE ENTRIES TO JUDGE BEST DAILY SECTION, BEST INDIVIDUAL LAYOUT AND BEST OUTDOOR WRITER.
DIVISION II and III (Combined due to a lack of entries)
GARY LUNDY WRITER OF THE YEAR
1. Jimmy Hyams, Off the Hook Sports.com 2. Russell Vannozzi, Main Street Nashville 3. Noah R. Houck, The Advocate/Democrat
Judges’ comments: "Great writers don’t just have talent, they evolve. They get past the cliches and overwriting a story to the point of insulting the intelligence of their readership. Great writers self-analyze. Finally, great writers are comfortable enough in their skin to find a style that suits them. The winner in this category doesn’t write stories. He tells them, like he’s sitting there having a beer with you. His stories on Bob Kesling and Roy Kramer are gems, but his tribute to a friend who died is touching and humorous. It’s hard to pull off, but this writer does it.”
BEST COLUMNIST
1. Jimmy Hyams, Off the Hook Sports.com 2. Maria M. Cornelius, KnoxTnToday.com
Judges’ comments: "Collection of solid columns. There were dissections on Josh Heupel’s relationship with his alma mater (Oklahoma), on why Heupel fired defensive coordinator Tim Banks, and on Vandy QB Diego Pavia’s one-man show in a win over the Vols.”
BEST FEATURE WRITER
1. Jimmy Hyams, Off the Hook Sports.com 2. Maria M. Cornelius, KnoxTnToday.com 3. Caleb Jarreau, The Daily Times
Judges’ comments: “Writers recognize they don’t get in the way when they have great subjects who are full of stories or anecdotes. They basically write transitions and keep the story flowing. The winner of this category did that.”
BEST PREP WRITER
1. Caleb Jarreau, The Daily Times 2. Josh Lane, The Daily Times 3. Nate Tosado, The Daily Times
Judges’ comments: “Goldfish for a team’s unofficial mascot. A peanut butter bagel-eating pitcher. A multi-voiced in-depth look at a goal-line stand. This writer won because he found a way to immediately draw readers into his stories, and kept them there with good, tight writing.”
BEST EVENT/NEWS WRITER
1. Charles Pulliam, Williamson Herald. 2. Russell Vannozzi, Main Street Nashville 3. Kevin Weaks, Union City Messenger
Judges’ comments: “Three wise selections for entries – a golfer playing on a badly sprained ankle clinching a state title for a team, a high school track team winning its first state championship in 125 years and a collection of different angles in a single game story.”
NOTE: DID NOT HAVE MULTIPLE ENTRIES TO JUDGE BEST DAILY SECTION, BEST INDIVIDUAL LAYOUT AND BEST OUTDOOR WRITER.
DIVISION IV
No entries