COLUMBUS, Ohio (NCBWA) – USA TODAY Sports Weekly college baseball writer Dana Heiss Grodin has been named the 2004 winner of the Wilbur Snypp Award, which is presented annually by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America for contributions to college baseball. She is the first woman to win the award.

"Dana has been a pioneer and trendsetter in college baseball," NCBWA Executive Director Bo Carter said. "There is no way to count the tons of crisp copy she has generated from the press box at the NCAA College World Series, and she has given the sport more than ample coverage from a national perspective."

Grodin, 32, has covered college baseball for Sports Weekly, formerly Baseball Weekly, since 1997. She currently writes a weekly college baseball column during the season and manages and promotes the USA Today Sports Weekly coaches poll. She also is a weekly guest on a sports talk radio show on KZNE-AM in College Station, Texas.

"I am so thankful to the selection committee for honoring me with the Wilbur Snypp Award," Grodin, who has covered the College World Series seven times, said. "After eight seasons covering college baseball for USA TODAY Baseball Weekly and Sports Weekly, it feels wonderful to receive my first national award from the group that knows our sport better than anyone. That my peers continue to respect and enjoy my efforts is especially gratifying."

Currently a contributing writer with Sports Weekly, Heiss Grodin worked as a staff writer for the magazine from 1997-2000 and played an integral part of producing the nation's largest baseball periodical. In addition to her coverage of college baseball, she also covered Major and Minor League Baseball, Sports Business and entertainment news.

"This is a well-earned honored for Dana," Scott Zucker, deputy managing editor for Sports Weekly, said. "Over the last few years, she has distinguished herself as an outstanding writer and reporter and one of the nation's leading authorities on college baseball. Everyone here at Sports Weekly is proud of Dana and the work she has done."

Heiss Grodin was a writer and editor at Sportsline.com prior to joining the staff at Baseball Weekly. She also worked as a freelance writer for the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post after covering baseball and college sports for the Press and Sun Bulletin in Binghamton, N.Y. She interned with Baseball Weekly following her 1994 graduation from the University of Florida. She is married to Howard Grodin and the couple has a 2-year-old daughter, Genna Belle. The family lives in South Beach. In the offseason, she works as a consultant for her family's jewelry business, Gemcor, Inc., in Miami Beach, Fla.

Heiss Grodin is the 30th recipient of the annual award, which is presented in memory of longtime Ohio State Sports Information Director and NCBWA founder, the late Wilbur (Bill) Snypp. Snypp was a noted contributor to the writers' organization, which was initiated in 1962 (and celebrating its 43rd year in 2004), as well as an officer in the group. The NCBWA/Wilbur Snypp Award yearly honors a professional for contributions to the sport of collegiate baseball. Voting is done by a panel of previous winners, who include past NCAA World Series directors, College Sports Information Directors of America Hall of Fame members, decorated media members and others.