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 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.