Feb. 8, 2018
For Immediate Release
Contact: Bo Carter
214-418-6132
.pdf version
Pioneering journalist honored by association
FITT WINS WILBUR SNYPP AWARD

GANRD FORKS, N.D (NCBWA)Aaron Fitt of D1Baseball.com has been one of the driving forces behind collegiate baseball's transition to the digital age and for those efforts, he was named the 43rd recipient of the prestigious 2017 Wilbur Snypp Award presented annually by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association for outstanding contributions to college baseball.

Fitt

Fitt immediately parlayed his 2004 journalism degree from the University of North Carolina into a career covering the sport of baseball. His first job out of Chapel Hill was at Baseball America and he became the organization's lead national writer for college baseball by 2006. During his 10 years at BA, Fitt became an expert on recruiting and the Major League Baseball Draft and took that knowledge with him as he transitioned into his current role as a national writer and editor for D1Baseball.com.

"This is quite a surprise and honor, especially because this award has been won by so many people I admire and respect in this business," said Fitt. "I want to thank the people who showed me the ropes over the course of my career. Three of my predecessors at Baseball America, Allan Simpson, Jim Callis and John Manuel, won this honor, and without those guys I would have never gotten the opportunity to write about college baseball for a living.

"I couldn't ask for better partners than my colleagues at D1Baseball.com — Kyle Peterson, Kendall Rogers, and Jeremy and Cynthia Mills. They have all worked tirelessly for the good of college baseball, and I am very proud of what we have built together. College baseball is booming, and I'm looking forward to covering the continued growth of our sport for years to come."

Fitt's dedication to the sport of college baseball has been seen throughout his career that has included stints in North Carolina and California. His latest venture at D1Baseball.com relaunched the website into the premier national publication devoted entirely to the sport.

He helped pave the way for the sport to take on the challenges of the digital age through the advent of daily online coverage, blogs, podcasts and numerous distributions through various social media channels.

Since his career began at BA, Fitt has covered the sport comprehensively from coast-to-coast, bringing enhanced publicity to the smaller programs, while also boosting the profiles of the power conference teams.

Fitt has focused his efforts on a number of hot-topic issues in the sport, such as the complexities and ramifications of the NCAA's "no agent" rule, the impact of changes to equipment and scholarship rules, while also humanizing the sport by telling stories of perseverance and courage on and off the field.

"Aaron Fitt is a dynamic journalist, who has been instrumental in expanding the coverage of college baseball on several new platforms over the last decade-plus," said NCBWA President Ryan Powell. "For a young man to have already made the impact he has on the sport of college baseball is impressive and we are thrilled that his peers and fellow Wilbur Snypp Award winners found him to be a deserving recipient of this accolade."

Fitt joins a distinguished group of past Wilbur Snypp Award winners, national journalists and college administrators as the 2017 winner. The plaque memorializes 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, as well as an officer in the group. The NCBWA/Wilbur Snypp Award yearly honors a professional for contributions to the sport of college baseball. Voting is conducted by a panel of previous winners, who include past NCAA College World Series directors, College Sports Information Directors of America Hall of Fame members, decorated media members, and others.

ALL-TIME WILBUR SNYPP AWARD WINNERS
1975 Wilbur Snypp, Ohio State
1976 Bill Esposito, St. John's
1977 Phil Langan, Cornell
1978 John Geis, Southern Conference
1979 Hank Schomber, Georgia Southern
1980 Bob Culp, Western Michigan
1981 Lou Pavlovich Sr., Collegiate Baseball
1982 Tom Price, South Carolina
1983 Bob Bradley, Clemson
1984 Robert Williams, Omaha World-Herald
1985 Jerry Miles, NCAA
1986 Larry Keefe, Seton Hall
1987 Tom Rowen, San Jose Mercury-News
1988 Fred Gerardi, KESY Radio, Omaha
1989 Jim Wright, NCAA
1990 Steve Weller, SIU-Edwardsville
1991 Bill Little, Texas
1992 Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman
1993 Bo Carter, Southwest Conference
1994 Lou Pavlovich Jr., Collegiate Baseball
1995 Steve Pivovar, Omaha World-Herald
1996 Gary Johnson, NCAA
1997 Dave Wohlhueter, Cornell
1998 Allen Simpson, Baseball America
1999 Alan Cannon, Texas A&M
2000 Jim Callis, Baseball America
2001 Dick Case, USA Baseball
2002 Russ Anderson, Conference USA
2003 John Manuel, Baseball America
2004 Dana Heiss Grodin, USA Today Sports Weekly
2005 Dennis Poppe, NCAA
2006 Mike Montoro, Southern Miss
2007 Barry Allen, Alabama
2008 Mike Patrick, ESPN
2009 Al Chase, Honolulu Star-Bulletin
2010 Lou Spry, NCAA
2011 Jeremy Mills, ESPN/D1Baseball.com
2012 Eric Olson, Omaha World Herald
2013 J.D. Hamilton, NCAA
2014 John Sullivan, Rice
2015 David Feaster, Dick Howser Trophy
2016 Ralph Zobell, BYU
2017 Aaron Fitt, D1Baseball.com