2024-25 USBWA Best Writing Contest Winners

INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) — The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has announced the winners of its 2024-25 Best Writing Contest, recognizing outstanding journalism covering college basketball during the 2024-25 season. Each of the honored writers will be recognized at the upcoming men's and women's Final Fours, respectively.

This year’s contest also introduced a new student category, recognizing outstanding work produced by student journalists covering the sport. The addition reflects the USBWA’s continued commitment to supporting the next generation of college basketball writers and highlighting the high-level coverage being produced on college campuses across the country.

Ryan McGee of ESPN.com won for best column with a creative and insightful look at the Duke-North Carolina rivalry written as a letter to Duke freshman Cooper Flagg. McGee’s column uses the personal tone of a letter to place Flagg into the long tradition of players who have shaped the rivalry, blending history, perspective and storytelling to show how each new chapter becomes part of college basketball’s most enduring matchup.

In the game/spot news category, Chris Baldwin of PaperCity Magazine was honored for an expansive story following Houston’s dramatic double-overtime victory over Kansas. Rather than focusing solely on the final moments of the game, Baldwin examined the events that led into the matchup and the ripple effects that followed, weaving together context, reaction and analysis to capture the broader significance of the night for both programs.

David Hale of ESPN captured the magazine-length feature category with a richly detailed portrait of Cooper Flagg’s Maine roots. Built through anecdotes from coaches, community members and others who witnessed Flagg’s early development, Hale’s story shows how the details of small-town life shaped a national basketball phenomenon — from opposing players pausing their warmups to watch him play to the barely legible cursive of his childhood autograph.

The enterprise category winner, Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News, chronicled former sportswriter Adrian Wojnarowski returning to where his journalism career began. Lenzi’s piece explores Wojnarowski’s early days in the profession, tracing the connections between his local reporting roots and the path that ultimately made him one of the most influential news breakers in the sport.

In moderate-length feature, Natalie Heavren of Title IX Sports was recognized for a compelling profile of Brenda Pitts. The story intertwines Pitts’ life experiences with the growth of women’s basketball, illustrating how her journey mirrors the broader progress of the sport and highlighting the perseverance required to navigate its evolving landscape.

The inaugural student category winner is Jenna Lifshen of the Kentucky Kernel at the University of Kentucky, whose entries demonstrated the depth of reporting and storytelling emerging from student media. Lifshen’s work stood out for its strong narrative structure and reporting, earning recognition as the first student winner in the history of the contest.

The USBWA Best Writing Contest annually recognizes excellence in reporting, storytelling and enterprise journalism covering all of college basketball.

The USBWA, founded in 1956, is the leading organization for journalists covering college basketball. The association presents several national awards, including the Oscar Robertson Trophy (men’s national player of the year), the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award (women’s national player of the year) and annual men's and women's All-America teams.

Following are the complete results from the 2024-25 USBWA Best Writing Contest:

COLUMN

  1. Ryan McGee, ESPN.com: Welcome to the Duke vs. UNC rivalry, Cooper Flagg
  2. Greg Barnes, Inside Carolina: The Ties That Bind Us Together: A reflection on life, family, cancer and UNC athletics
  3. Matt Fortuna, The Inside Zone: North Carolina’s AD had no business chairing this committee
  4. Michael Cohen, Fox Sports: 'One, two, three, stay': Inside Dan Hurley's choice to pass on 'once-in-a-lifetime' job
  5. Scott Dochterman, The Athletic: Why is Fran McCaffery out? Iowa men’s basketball hasn’t given fans enough reasons to care

GAME/SPOT NEWS

  1. Chris Baldwin, Paper City Magazine: Hugs and Elbow Grease — Hidden Stories Of Houston’s Milos and Mylik Miracle Win at Kansas and How Kelvin Sampson Made His Team Believe In Itself
  2. Mike Sielski, The Philadelphia Inquirer: Fran Dunphy served La Salle and the Big 5 better than anyone
  3. Mike Waters, syracuse.com: A funeral and a reunion in 24 hours: The 50th anniversary of Syracuse’s 1975 Final Four team meant a little more to Rudy Hackett
  4. John Bohnenkamp, IowaCollegeHoops.com: Hawkeyes’ Fight Reaches Its Finish
  5. Chris Tomasson, Denver Gazette: Ex-Nuggets star David Thompson remembers former rival, longtime friend Bill Walton as 'great player and a great guy'

MAGAZINE-LENGTH FEATURE

  1. David Hale, ESPN: Tales of a young Cooper Flagg
  2. Jeremiah Holloway, Inside Carolina: Eric Montross' Legacy Lives On Through Annual Camp
  3. Cora Hall, Knoxville News Sentinel: Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell's emotional journey with her dad from life-changing wins to devastating loss
  4. Mitchell Northam, SB Nation: How an assistant coach helped a WNBA star rebuild one of the ACC’s signature women’s basketball programs
  5. Andrew Haubner, No Cap Space WBB: A Day in Watts in Search of JuJu Watkins

ENTERPRISE

  1. Rachel Lenzi, The Buffalo News: The inside story of Adrian Wojnarowski's new career
  2. Matt Norlander, CBSSports: An all-access look at how Dan Hurley prepared UConn for Maui before the Huskies' disappointing loss to Memphis
  3. Lulu Kesin, The Greenville News: How Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson's openness inspires others outside of basketball
  4. CJ Moore, The Athletic: NBA greats think this D-II coach is a basketball genius. So why don’t you know who he is?
  5. Jeff Borzello, ESPN.com: Inside the three weeks that changed men's college basketball

MODERATE-LENGTH FEATURE

  1. Natalie Heavren, Title IX Sports: From the court to the classroom, Alabama native Brenda Pitts changed the Tide of the sport industry
  2. Jesse Temple, The Athletic: An inside look at Wisconsin basketball’s ‘new-school,’ pro-driven game day approach
  3. Gordon Jones, Lebtown.com: Having transitioned from the basketball court to the big screen, Brian Jesiolowski finds himself at a ‘weird crossroads’
  4. Tim Casey, forbes.com: How Rick Pitino Turned Around St. John’s Men’s Basketball Program
  5. Jeff Borzello, ESPN.com: 'It was about putting together the best team': How Duke built a roster to complement Cooper Flagg

STUDENT

  1. Jenna Lifshen, Kentucky Kernel (Kentucky)
  2. Alejandro Compean,  The Cougar (Houston)
  3. Owen Hewitt, Philadelphia Inquirer (Villanova)
  4. Camryn Abeirgo, The Cougar (Houston)
  5. Ian Curtis, The Battalion (Texas A&M)