I've voted in past College Baseball Foundation Hall of Fame selections, but this is the first year I've been asked to help select the winners of three individual national awards.

Here's the ballot I submitted before Wednesday's deadline:

Brooks Wallace Award
1- Jedd Gyorko, West Virginia
2- Ryan Soares, George Mason
3- Carter Jurica, Kansas State
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Pitcher of the Year
1- Chris Sale, Florida Gulf Coast
2- Danny Hultzen, Virginia
3- John Stilson, Texas A&M
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Olerud Award
1- Mike McGee, Florida State
2- Paul Snieder, Northwestern
3- Andy Mee, Florida Atlantic

The Brooks Wallace Award goes to the season's top shortstop. The John Olerud Award recognizes the top two-way player. And the National Pitcher of the Year Award goes to ... well, it's pretty obvious.
We were asked to select our top three choices for each award. For me, the toughest decision was on the shortstop pick. Soares put up the best offensive numbers (.438, 71 RBI) and I wouldn't be surprised if he wins. Gyorko's fielding percentage was slightly better (fielding is a shortstop's most important job in our book), and his batting average and home run numbers were impressive (.381, 19 HR). Ultimately, what swung my vote to Gyorko was the better (much better) competition he faced in the Big East than did Soares in the Colonial Athletic Association. And if you're wondering where Cal State Fullerton's Christian Colon is, the No. 4 overall pick in the draft was a slight notch below Jurica defensively (again, glove work at that position matters greatly) and at the plate.

The pitcher award wasn't a slam-dunk choice either. Like Soares, Sale plays in a conference (Atlantic Sun) that is hardly among the traditional powers (although I'd certainly give it the nod over the CAA). In Sale's case, I kept coming back to these numbers: 103 IP, 146 K, 14 BB; the latter deserves a !!!!!). He's that rare staff ace, too, who came through when pressed into relief duty. His two lone non-starts produced two saves. At No. 2, I went with sophomore Hultzen over Mississippi's Drew Pomeranz, again after much debate. The No. 5 overall draft pick, Pomeranz is sure to get strong support in the award voting. The number that stood out in this comparison reflected a significant difference in control. Pomeranz walked a hefty 46 batters in 93 2/3 innings. Hultzen walked 20 in 92 2/3. The nominees for this award include starters and relievers, which further complicates the decision process. I opted to use my No. 3 pick on a reliever and went with Stilson because he was constantly on the mound for A&M when games were being decided. The sophomore went 8-1 with nine saves. An 0.87 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 72 1/2 innings are awfully compelling numbers, too. Chance Ruffin of Texas has been getting more attention among relievers, but Stilson, in my book, was more valuable because he pitched 14 more innings in three fewer apperances than Ruffin.

The Olerud Award is an interesting concept, recognizing the fact that in the increasingly specialized game, there still are versatile collegians who contribute at a high level in the field (unless they only DH) and on the mound. Mee received our top nod with a .335 average, 64 RBI, 4-0 record and nine saves with a 0.41 ERA. In my book, easiest pick of the awards bunch. We saw Snieder in person at Illinois Field this season. Despite the fact the Illini handed him a loss in one of his two mound appearances that weekend (he earned a save in the other), Snieder deserves a top 3 spot with 12 saves and a 1.79 ERA in a pretty heavy pitching workload (40 1/3 innings) for a two-way player. The Wildcat first baseman can swing a mean stick, too: .353, 7 HR, 36 RBI).