Congrats to Jon Wilner! Pac-12 Hotline reporter honored among 2022’s best national sports writers

Jon Wilner, whose nationally syndicated content on the Pac-12 is carried here on Sports360az.com, won Top 10 honors this week in the nation’s most prestigious sports writing contest.

Wilner, competing against the most prominent newspapers and websites in the category of Beat Writing, now moves into the final round of judging by the Associated Press Sports Editors.

Winners will be announced next month. The group of finalists also includes journalists from the New York Times, Washington Post and Sports Illustrated.

Wilner broke the biggest story in college sports in 2022, reporting exclusively on June 30 that USC and UCLA would leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten Conference. His five-piece entry also included a first look at the scorched Pac-12 landscape, possible paths to salvation and success, and other issues around the conference.

A member of the Sports Staff since 2000, Wilner has won Top 10 honors seven times. His 2016 story on Steve Kerr was named No. 1 in the Features category.

In 2013, Wilner was named beat writer of the year by the Football Writers Association of America for his coverage of the Pac-12.