Rodd Baxley of The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer won first place in the Division D column writing category of the 2025 Associated Press Sports Editors contest.
Contestants in the column writing category entered four-part portfolios, including one mandatory piece with a strong opinion. Baxley submitted a portfolio that included pieces on N.C. State’s hire of Will Wade; Bill Belichick’s debut loss at North Carolina; the Tar Heels’ ugly loss to Clemson; and 7-foot center Jenri Veesaar’s impact on the UNC men’s basketball team.
APSE contest winners will be honored at the 2026 APSE Summer Conference banquet July 18 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va. Registration for the conference is open; you can register right here.
Baxley will receive a first-place plaque. The second- through 10th-place finishers will receive frame-worthy certificates.
Sports editors submitted 23 entries in the Division D column writing category. Contest chair Perryn Keys and APSE officers Paul Barrett, Erik Hall and Tony Maluso prepared the entries.
Contest results: Digital, print and podcasts | Writing and photography
Judges convened in late February, in person at the APSE Winter Conference in Las Vegas and remotely around the nation, to select the top entrants, reading 92 total pieces in the category. The committee determined 10 finalists, with each judge ranking the entries in order from 1 to 10. The final 10 were given to a second judging group in late February and March, ranking the entries from Nos. 1 to 10 in the same fashion.
The final rankings are determined by tallying the ballots.
The top 10 are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses, along with links to the winning entries.
The contest is open to APSE members. Click here to join.
1. Rodd Baxley, Fayetteville Observer (N.C.) (1) 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
2. Don Williams, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (2) 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
3. Chase Goodbread, The Tuscaloosa News (2) 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
4. Sean Highkin, The Rose Garden Report (1) 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
5. Brad Schlossman, Grand Forks Herald 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
6. Frank Bodani, York (Pa.) Daily Record 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
7. Nathan Giese, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
8. Matt Trowbridge, Rockford Register Star 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
9. Dan D’Addona, The Holland Sentinel 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
10. Matt Schuckman, Muddy River Sports 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
