Brett Ciancia
Dallas (FWAA) _ Brett Ciancia, the founder and owner of Pick Six Previews, is the seventh winner of the Edward Aschoff Rising Star Award, which is presented annually by the Football Writers Association of America. The award is named after Edward Aschoff, the beloved ESPN college football reporter who died on Christmas Eve in 2019 on his 34th birthday from previously undetected Stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in his lungs.
The winner of this award must be 34 years of age or younger and a member of the FWAA.
"I am extremely honored to be selected for the Rising Star award," Ciancia said. "It has been a long road building Pick Six Previews from scratch, and I'm thankful for everyone who has supported me along the way, all the readers and especially David Jones for his nomination and mentorship. Given the national scope of the preview magazine, it has been a pleasure to connect with so many of our FWAA members over the years.
"Though I never met Ed, his colleagues mention his passion, work-ethic, and authenticity which are inspirational traits to all writers young and old. It's an honor to be named alongside Ed and those who have won the award before me."
FWAA 2017 President Dave Jones from PennLive.com nominated Ciancia, now 33, who launched his predictive Pick Six Previews in 2012 when he was a sophomore business major at Boston College.
"I nominated him for his trailblazing in analytics," Jones said. "It's one thing to be young and gifted. It's another to innovate at such a young age. I believe he will soon become known as the Ken Pomeroy of college football.
"A one-man show," Jones said, "he writes comprehensive previews for all 68 Power 4 teams while striking a balance between program trends, coaching schemes, player personnel and his proprietary."
Ciancia has garnered plaudits from many other insiders in college football such as Chris Fallica and Josh Pate.
"Few publications have as up-to-date preview information as Pick Six Previews," Fox Sports' Fallica said. "In addition to all of the usual content one would expect out of a preview magazine, there are unque features like 'Game Grader', which help Pick Six Previews stand out. It is not easy to make a preview publication seem fresh and full of new information, but Brett Ciancia accomplishes it with some incredibly thorough writeups."
Over the course of the last 10 seasons (2016-25), Ciancia's pre-season picks have cumulatively been the most accurate in college football as deemed by Stassen, who has graded pre-season publications since the 1990s. Athlon and Phil Steele Magazines have ranked second and third over that period. Ciancia's pre-game pick for the national title game was Indiana 27, Miami (Fla.) 17.The final score was Indiana 27, Miami (Fla.) 22
Other very accurate predictions by Ciancia during last season's playoffs:
His Quarterfinal Sugar Bowl Prediction: Ole Miss 35, Georgia 34. Result: Ole Miss 39, Georgia 34.
His Semifinal Fiesta Bowl Prediction: Miami (Fla.) 31, Ole Miss 26. Result: Miami (Fla.) 31, Ole Miss 27.
Ciancia's work extends to the regular season and playoffs when he writes weekly stat packages and previews of upcoming games.
"It is an all-out sprint from Week Zero until the confetti falls on the national title stage," Ciancia said. "It is a weekly flow of watching games all Saturday, compiling my weekly Pick Six Plus stat package, talking on radio and podcasts, then writing more about upcoming games. Then it is Saturday morning again.".
"My dad introduced me to college football, and I loved everything about it--the traditions, rivalries, the style of play, and its unique spot in American history," Ciancia said. "My passion for the sport, matched with my analytical mindset, led to a set of stats that are insightful, interesting, and predictive. My preview magazine brings those stats to life to help explain what happened and what to expect in the fall. I love diving deep into every program and it's a basically never-ending research project.
"I played football at Unionville High School (Pa.)," he added, "and the sport instilled an unrelenting work ethic. I've always enjoyed the X's and O's. and one of the best parts of my preview magazine process is talking to FBS head coaches and coordinators about their schemes and program strategies."
Shehan Jeyarajah of CBS Sports, current 2026 FWAA President, was last year's Rising Star recipient. Other past winners include: Nick Kelly, now of AL.com, The Advocate’s Wilson Alexander (2023), Sports Illustrated's Richard Johnson (2022), The Athletic's Grace Raynor (2021) and The Athletic's David Ubben (2020) – the first recipient of the Edward Aschoff Rising Star Award.
"Ed was a giant in this industry,” Jeyarajah said. “While I never had the privilege of meeting him, I take a lot of inspiration from the way he approached his work, especially his profound ability to connect the dots between the sports we cover and the internal lives of the people who make them. It’s an honor to have my name mentioned beside Ed’s and join an incredibly impressive fraternity of writers and reporters who have won the award. I hope I can do them proud.”
Remembering Edward Aschoff
Aschoff graduated from the University of Florida in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in journalism. After covering Gators football, basketball and baseball from 2007 to 2011 for The Gainesville Sun, he joined ESPN in 2011 as an SEC reporter and distinguished himself as a rising star.
Edward Aschoff
Aschoff moved to Los Angeles in 2017 to begin a more expanded national role that included television coverage. Over three seasons, he reported from campuses across the country for ESPN.com, SportsCenter, SEC Network and ESPN Radio, and he worked as a television and radio sideline reporter during college football games.
Aschoff inspired us through his storytelling, brightened our lives with his gregarious personality, and uplifted our spirits with his energy. The FWAA hopes to honor his memory and his commitment to aspiring journalists with this award.
"Edward epitomized everything you want in a sports journalist: He knew how to build relationships, to gain trust, to break stories but also to tell stories," said ESPN.com's Andrea Adelson, 2024 FWAA President. "And he did it all with a flair that made you want to watch his television pieces or read his written stories right away. His dogged determination and relentless work ethic allowed him to rise to the top at ESPN, and all his exemplary qualities serve as a model for young journalists everywhere about what truly can be achieved if you go after what you want."
The University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications has established the Edward Aschoff Memorial Fund, which will provide support for students involved in sports journalism.
"Edward was one of our stars – not just because he was so talented as a journalist and storyteller, but also because of everything he did to help people around him. He always had a good word of advice for young journalists, he was always willing to give back, and he always made people smile," said Ted Spiker, chair of the department of journalism at the University of Florida who taught Edward in several classes at UF.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of journalists, broadcasters, publicists, photographers and key executives in all areas of college football. The FWAA works to govern media access and game-day operations while presenting awards and honors, including an annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its programs and initiatives, contact Executive Director Steve Richardson at 214-870-6516 or tiger@fwaa.com.
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