Dylan Crews was’ the dude’ at LSU. Now the MLB draft is calling
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Ryan McGee, ESPN Senior Writer
Editor’s note: This story originally ran in March, as Dylan Crews was leading the LSU Tigers to an eventual national championship. Now he’s expected to be a top pick in Sunday’s MLB Draft. It has been updated to reflect his end-of-season stats.
From the moment Dylan Crews officially decided he would become an LSU Tiger, the Florida-raised outfielder stated he had one goal: to come to Baton Rouge and, in his words, “be a dude there.”
Now, after a third season patrolling the turf of Alex Box Stadium, Dylan Crews isn’t merely a dude. He is The Dude. The anchor of the Men’s College World Series champions, the Golden Spikes-winning dude on a roster overflowing with dudes, a pack of OG LSU recruits joined by a pack of powerhouse transfers who came to Baton Rouge from the Rockies and the Pacific in no small part seeking to play alongside No. 3. But this isn’t simply a Crews crew movement. He’s also The Dude who has all of baseball buzzing, a hum that’s becoming harder to hear as the MLB first-year player draft is upon us and this five-tool, right-handed dude sits atop many selection spreadsheets.
He has been on their radars since his pandemic-shortened senior year at Lake Mary (Florida) High School in 2020. But he knew he had work to do then, leaving high school with a frustratingly incomplete résumé. Even just one year ago he knew he had more work to do, chasing way too many bad breaking balls. And he didn’t want to leave the LSU program as it had even more work to do.
The Tigers are arguably the greatest program of college baseball’s modern era, having made 19 Men’s College World Series appearances since 1986 and winning seven MCWS titles. But heading into this year, the last of those rings was won in 2009, the third of Paul Mainieri’s 15 seasons at the wheel. That’s an eternity by LSU baseball standards, and over the dozen Series since they’d had to watch five other SEC schools win a total of seven championships. Last year, four of the eight MCWS participants were SEC schools (plus soon-to-be members Texas and Oklahoma) and none of them were LSU, who hadn’t been to Omaha since 2017. Mainieri, who recruited Crews, was sent into retirement after the 2021 season in which LSU went 38-25 (13-17 in conference play). The arrival of Jay Johnson from Arizona had shown promise, but ended in Hattiesburg last year with an NCAA Regional loss to Southern Miss.
So, the big leagues? Crews had more to accomplish before he thought that far ahead.
“The one thing I say is that a lot of people took the elevator, but I took the stairs,” the soft-spoken, 6-foot, 205-pound junior said through the curl of a polite, confident grin. “We’re all going to end up at the same place, but I took a different route and it’s the route that I chose. I’m here at LSU and having the best time of my life.”
Here’s what a stat line looks like from The Dude having the best time of his life: 71 games, 110 hits, 18 homers, 16 doubles, 100 runs scored, 70 RBIs, 184 total bases, 171 putouts with zero errors in the field, a slugging percentage of .713 and … OK, here’s the number everyone’s waiting for … a batting average of .426.
That’s four HR’s in four games for 3️⃣@__dc4__ | SECN+ pic.twitter.com/c4F14CEMuV
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) March 26, 2023
Add it all up and you’ve got college baseball’s best player on the sport’s best team. Crews saved his best for last, going 6-for-12 in the MCWS finals series against Florida, including a 4-for-6 performance in the deciding third game that delivered the long-awaited title.
Because that’s how this Dude rolls.
“I don’t think people really understand the true impact he has on the program outside of being a five-tool talent,” explained Thatcher Hurd, one of those high-profile transfer arrivals, coming to Baton Rouge after a season on the mound at Jackie Robinson Stadium for UCLA. “You come in and you’re like, ‘What’s Dylan Crews about?’ He’s got everything. He’s the best player in the country, and he’s truly a better person than a player. And that says a lot. … People worry about how we’re going to manage a lot of good talent, managing egos. And I think it really all starts with him. He’s super humble. He leads by example. And he leads with his words.”
The 21-year-old has always led by example. It’s the words that are new to his dugout repertoire. Explosive as he is on the diamond, he can be highly introverted elsewhere in life. At home, roommate and righty pitcher Ty Floyd said college baseball’s best player can be found meticulously polishing his endless supply of custom cleats (he really loves his neon SpongeBob kicks) or working on Lego sets, most recently the Avengers’ “Infinity Gauntlet.”
“I can’t sit still for 10 minutes just to build a Lego set. I don’t know how he sits there for an hour or two building the whole thing,” Floyd said. “He’s like, ‘I love it.’ Oof. Good for you. That’s that focus. Then he’ll go to the ballpark and get three hits and a homer that goes out of the ballpark. Turns it on and off.”
When Hurd and his fellow transfers arrived over summer and were joined by a group of highly touted new signees, The Dude had his newfound captain’s voice turned on. He met them all at the clubhouse door and went teammate-to-teammate, those he knew well and those he’d just met, explaining the LSU workout schedule, summer and fall practice plan and then where they were all going to dinner. And lunch. And breakfast.
“I think that’s what’s different about this team compared to the last two teams is how close we are,” Crews said, confessing that he has had to work to become more vocal. “My whole life I’ve been leader by doing, a leader by example. That works when you’re a freshman and I didn’t really have a senior year of high school. But now I speak up. To me, that’s been as big a piece of my development as even the on-field stuff.”
End 5 | Dylan Crews is a five tool baseball player@__dc4__ | SECN+ pic.twitter.com/Hx8aDyXDu7
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) May 8, 2022
“The baseball part is easy to see. I have never seen a player as complete as him in college baseball. Usually, those guys sign out of high school,” said Johnson, who led Arizona to Omaha in the first and last of his five seasons in Tucson. “But it’s the other stuff. It’s the mental game. How he prepares, how he handles success, how he handles the minimal failure that he has and ability to get right back to doing what he does is special. And it’s leadership. He’s really found his voice and the players respect him so much because of the player he is, the person he is, that when he speaks, they really listen and follow.”
Said Crews, “Everybody’s their own leader in their own way, so doesn’t matter if you’re a freshman or a senior, we are all keeping each other focused. It’s pretty special to see. It is a lot of work, but it is also pretty fun.”
Those around Crews can attest his work ethic has never been an issue at any point in his young life. Even during his preteen years when he first started working with a personal swing coach in his homeland of baseball-mad Central Florida. When hours per day taking cuts in a cinder-block garage weren’t enough, his parents found an indoor batting facility and school that had been fashioned from an abandoned car dealership. When that wasn’t enough and little Dylan got twitchy around the house his father, George, founder and owner of a commercial printing company, built a batting cage in the backyard. When that wasn’t enough, and even hitting the road with a high-level travel team didn’t satiate the teen’s hardball hunger, George and wife Kim, a nurse, worked with his school to create a so-called “Dylan Rule” that heavily front-loaded his academic schedule each morning so that he could spend his afternoons at the nearby TXNL Baseball Academy.
“You can go to the academy full time, but I also wanted to have a normal high school student experience, as much as I could anyway,” Crews said, chuckling. “So, my parents did what they always do and they worked to make it work. I am so fortunate to have them, supporting me no matter what it takes.”
These days it takes an RV, or more accurately, a motorcoach, which George and Kim Crews bought as soon as their boy moved to Baton Rouge. They purchased it secondhand from a tailgate-loving Alabama Crimson Tide fan, who was happy to sell them the rig but refused their request and payment to redo the crimson décor and replace it with purple and gold. Now they steer that RV (they did the makeover themselves) wherever the Tigers and their boy are playing ball, making the drive from the Orlando suburbs to all points Southeastern. During LSU home games they work with their son to host families who have children with special needs, something the family hopes to continue to do as Dylan moves up the baseball ladder.
“He’s such a great baseball player, but then he’s also like the nicest, kindest guy, it almost makes you mad,” Floyd joked. “But it’s also a genuine privilege to know him and to watch him play. It’s next-level stuff and it’s awesome to see everyone else kind of discover the guy we already know.”
Those discoverers include the LSU icons who came before him. One by one, they have reached out, unofficially welcoming him into their club. Crews rolls off their names, the ones he wants to be listed among when he departs for the big leagues in July: Odell Beckham Jr., Shaquille O’Neal and the baseball player he talked to three years ago, when he was wrestling with whether or not to enter the MLB draft out of high school, Alex Bregman. You know, the dudes of their time.
“The reason I came here is to win a national championship, to put a new year up on that Intimidator,” he said of the legendarily gargantuan scoreboard that towers over the left field of the Box.
Then he went out and did just that.
And that’s what makes Dylan Crews The Dude.
For teams that aren’t playing in their conference championship games, this is it — the final chance to make a lasting impression on the College Football Playoff selection committee.
For some contenders, like Ole Miss, their regular-season résumé is now complete, and what happens in the fifth ranking on Tuesday night should be a strong indicator of their final placement on Selection Day. Others, like Miami, are banking on hope and help — and most importantly, one more win. It all began with the Egg Bowl on Friday — a game that not only kept Ole Miss in the playoff, but also technically in the SEC race.
That’s right — this thing is far from over, so check back after each game to see how the results will impact the playoff as the day unfolds.
Texas 27, Texas A&M 17
Rivalry Week presented its first shakeup of the top four when No. 16 Texas beat No. 3 Texas A&M — but it might not be all that jarring in the fifth ranking. The Aggies will likely drop to the 4-6 range behind Georgia. The Bulldogs have better wins including a 35-10 drubbing of … Texas. Georgia also has a better loss (to No. 10 Alabama), and has now clinched a spot in the SEC title game. The question is just how far Texas A&M will fall now that it has joined No. 5 Texas Tech, No. 6 Oregon and No. 7 Ole Miss in the one-loss club. The Aggies entered the weekend with a noticeable edge over Texas Tech in both strength of record (23 to 56) and strength of schedule (1 to 10). It’s possible the committee only drops the Aggies one spot, flipping them with Georgia, which means they’d still be in position to earn a first-round bye as the No. 4 seed. There would be a strong debate, though, about whether the Aggies, Texas Tech or Oregon, the latter which has impressed the committee lately by ranking in the top five in both offensive and defensive efficiency, deserves the highest seeding. The Aggies’ problem now is that they’d have to finish in the top four as an at-large team because they just got knocked out of the SEC title game.
While Texas now has arguably the best win in the country, it probably won’t be enough to catapult it into the top-10 as a three-loss team. Even with some upsets above them, it’s unlikely Texas would get higher than No. 12.
Indiana 56, Purdue 3
Indiana clinched a spot in the Big Ten championship game with its win against rival Purdue, locking in a CFP bid and beefing up its chances at keeping a first-round bye on Selection Day. The Hoosiers, who have been the committee’s No. 2 team in each of the first four rankings, still have a chance of grabbing the No. 1 spot in Tuesday’s ranking if Ohio State loses to Michigan. If the Buckeyes lose and Oregon wins Indiana will face Oregon in the Big Ten title game. If Michigan wins and Oregon loses the Hoosiers will face Michigan for the conference title.
The question is whether IU can maintain a top-four seed and a first-round bye as the Big Ten runner-up. If Indiana lost the title game, the committee would consider where their opponent was ranked and how close the game was. The Hoosiers would also be compared with other top one-loss teams, but playing a ranked opponent in the conference championship game — win or lose — would boost IU’s record strength by the committee’s metric.
Georgia 16, Georgia Tech 9
Georgia should keep its place as the committee’s top one-loss team following its win against rival Georgia Tech. Georgia’s Oct. 18 win against Ole Miss, along with their win at Tennessee and drubbing of Texas, impressed the committee. The Bulldogs’ consistency on offense and defense has also played well with the committee. Georgia’s first-round bye would only be in question at this point if it finishes as a two-loss SEC runner-up.
Barring an unusual combination of ACC results, No. 23 Georgia Tech will be out of the playoff at 9-3. The only way the Yellow Jackets can extend their playoff hope is through the ACC championship game. They entered the weekend with a 1.5% chance of making the game, according to ESPN Analytics.
Ole Miss 38, Mississippi State 19
With its win against rival Mississippi State on Friday, Ole Miss likely locked up a playoff spot and remains in a strong position to host a first-round home game. If Alabama loses to Auburn on Saturday, Ole Miss will clinch a spot in the SEC championship game. Even if it doesn’t, though, the one-loss Rebels should still be a CFP lock.
As for the uncertainty still looming around coach Lane Kiffin, if Ole Miss turns to an interim head coach for the playoff, the selection committee could consider that. CFP protocol states the group will consider “other relevant factors such as unavailability of key players and coaches that may have affected a team’s performance during the season or likely will affect its postseason performance.” Ole Miss won’t miss the playoff because Kiffin left for another job, but it could get dinged a spot or two if the committee thinks the team won’t be the same without him.
Utah 31, Kansas 21
No. 13 Utah punctuated its résumé with a win against 5-7 Kansas, but it’s still unlikely to reach the playoff without multiple upsets of teams above it — especially after just being leapfrogged by No. 12 Miami in the latest CFP ranking. Even with a win, to reach the Big 12 championship game, Utah still needs Texas Tech to lose and for both BYU and Arizona State to win. The Utes’ best hope to reach the CFP is still as an at-large team.
Getting that bid isn’t inconceivable if a combination of two-loss teams above them lose. If Oklahoma, Alabama and Miami lose, it would be difficult for any of them to stay in the top 12 as three-loss teams. Utah would need at least two of them to lose to move into the top 10, which is where it would need to be to actually be seeded in the field. The No. 11 and No. 12 teams this year will be excluded during the seeding process to make room for the fourth- and fifth-highest ranked conference champions.
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Mark Schlabach
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Lane Kiffin said he’ll decide Saturday whether he will return as Ole Miss‘ coach in 2026 or take another job, presumably at LSU, which is trying to poach him from its SEC rival with a lucrative contract offer that will make him one of the highest-paid coaches in college football.
Kiffin, while speaking to reporters after the No. 7 Rebels’ 38-19 victory at Mississippi State in Friday’s Egg Bowl at Davis Wade Stadium, would only say that he’ll have to make a decision one way or the other, after Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter and chancellor Glenn Boyce said they needed an answer by Saturday.
“I feel like I’ve got to,” Kiffin said.
When Kiffin was asked if he had made up his mind about where he’ll be coaching next season, he said, “Yeah, I haven’t. Maybe that surprises you. But, you know, I’ve got to do some praying and figure this thing out.”
Kiffin said he planned to attend his son’s high school playoff game in Tupelo, Mississippi, on Friday night. Knox Kiffin is Oxford High’s starting quarterback.
“Tonight, I’m going to go be a dad and watch a more important game to me,” Kiffin said.
Kiffin wasn’t sure what time he would make a decision Saturday.
“There’s a lot [that goes] into it,” Kiffin said. “It’s a hard decision. You guys have them all the time. You’ve got to make decisions about jobs you take and where you move, and we get paid a lot so I understand we’re under a lot of spotlight and scrutiny.”
Kiffin said he regretted not being able to speak to his father, Monte Kiffin, while trying to make one of the most important decisions of his career. The longtime NFL defensive coordinator died in July 2024. He was 84.
Kiffin, 50, has sought the advice of former Alabama coach Nick Saban and Las Vegas Raiders coach Pete Carroll, his former boss at USC, the past few weeks.
ESPN reported earlier Friday that Florida, which was also courting Kiffin, is now focused on other candidates in its search because the Gators believe he’s more interested in other opportunities.
Carter and Boyce met with Kiffin a week ago in Oxford, Mississippi, and the sides came to an understanding that Kiffin would make up his mind the day after the Egg Bowl.
If the Egg Bowl was Kiffin’s last game as Ole Miss’ coach, it was a fitting end to one of the most successful tenures in school history.
As speculation about Kiffin’s future continued to swirl over the past two weeks, the Rebels rolled past their rivals for their fifth win in the past six meetings in the heated series. The Rebels had 545 yards of offense, as quarterback Trinidad Chambliss passed for 359 yards with four touchdowns.
The Rebels (11-1, 7-1 SEC) all but secured a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff. They’ll have to wait another day to find out whether they’ll play in next week’s SEC championship game in Atlanta.
No. 3 Texas A&M would have to fall at No. 16 Texas on Friday night (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) and No. 10 Alabama would have to lose at Auburn in Saturday’s Iron Bowl (7:30 p.m. ET/ABC) for the Rebels to clinch a spot in the SEC championship game.
And, of course, Ole Miss fans will be waiting Saturday to find out which coaches will be on the sideline for the CFP, which might begin with a first-round game at home on Dec. 19 or 20.
If Kiffin decides to leave for LSU, former New York Giants coach Joe Judge would likely serve as the Rebels’ interim coach in the CFP, sources told ESPN.
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