Ben Thomas Wins Big at ASWA Awards, BamaCentral Takes Home a Stack of Honors
AL.com’s Ben Thomas just had a major moment at the Alabama Sports Writers Association (ASWA) awards. He won the Herby Kirby Award—basically the top honor for sports writing in the state—for an emotional column about the short life of Baby Maxi. It’s his first time winning it, and he’s the third AL.com writer in a row to take home the prize.
Thomas also grabbed second place for best sports story written on deadline about a high school or amateur event.
The Herby Kirby Award is a pretty big deal—it’s named after a legendary Birmingham sports writer who passed away while covering the 1973 Sugar Bowl.
ASWA also announced its picks for top high school athletes. Ambrey Taylor, a senior at Curry and an Alabama commit, was named Miss Softball. Steele Hall from Hewitt-Trussville, who’s headed to Tennessee, took home Mr. Baseball.
BamaCentral crushed it this year, walking away with nine awards—more than any other outlet.
David Glovach from the TimesDaily in Florence was honored with the Bill Shelton Award, which goes to a journalist who really gives back to their community. He also won two more awards for his basketball and golf stories.
Here’s a quick rundown of some key writing awards:
Best Column: Ben Thomas (AL.com) took first.
Best Project: Tommy Hicks (Lagniappe) won, with Christopher Walsh (BamaCentral) as runner-up.
Best Football Story, Power 5 or NFL: Cody Goodwin (247 Sports) won it, Blake Byler (BamaCentral) came second.
Best Softball Story: Katie Windham (BamaCentral) took first.
Best Student Work: BamaCentral’s Mathey Gibson grabbed first, and Will Miller came in second.
To top it off, Christopher Walsh from BamaCentral also placed sixth nationally in the Associated Press Sports Editors contest—right up there with some of the biggest names in media.
Ben Thomas Wins Top Honors — BamaCentral’s Award Shelf Just Got Crowded
