With the MLB Draft just days away now, I figured it was a good time to pose this question.
Is Dylan Crews the greatest LSU Baseball player ever?
I even discussed this topic on the latest episode of the Miguez Mindset:
Some people might answer that with a resounding “of course he is” while some people might be hesitant and say “well, what about Todd Walker? or Ben McDonald?”
However you choose to look at this, there’s one thing everyone can agree on: Crews is leaving LSU better than he found it.
Back in 2020, Crews had the opportunity to go pro out of high school but decided that he wanted to better himself in college and go win a national championship at LSU.
Two weeks ago in Omaha, he did just that.
For his three-year career in Purple & Gold, Crews played in every one of LSU’s 196 games, helping lead the Bayou Bengals to a 132-64 record in that three-year span. His final slash line sits at .380/.498/.689 while being named National Freshman of the Year (2021), the only 2x SEC Player of the Year (2022, 2023), and the winner of a Gold Glove and Golden Spikes Award (2023).
The soon-to-be top 3 pick in the MLB Draft hit 58 home runs in his three seasons (22 in 2022) with 184 RBI and 146 strikeouts. One of Crews’ highest attributes, however, is his ability to draw walks, having 152 and 29 hit-by-pitches while in Baton Rouge.
Now, how do all of those numbers make him the greatest Tiger ever?
When you look at the LSU record book, he set a new single-season record for runs (100) while tying the record for hits in a season (110). Crews is now Top 10 in the LSU record book for career hits (7th), runs (4th), RBI (9th), and batting average (2nd).
Next, you have to look at what he’s meant to the program.
You can look at this year’s national championship and talk about the number of players that were important (Paul Skenes, Tommy White, Tre Morgan, Cade Beloso, Hayden Travinksi, Gavin Guidry, etc), but it’s hard to say one was more important than Crews.
When Crews arrived in 2021, Paul Mainieri’s career was winding down, LSU hadn’t played in Omaha in four years and were 12 years removed from their last national championship. It felt like the Tigers were going through the motions.
However, Crews flipped the momentum of this program. Morgan broke out of his shell and became a great infielder, you saw the emergence of Gavin Dugas and Jordan Thompson, Beloso became the leader of the clubhouse, and so on and so forth.
Then, Jay Johnson came in. Johnson has said on numerous occasions that a big factor in him taking the LSU job was to coach Dylan Crews. His coaching staff attacked the transfer portal with Riley Cooper and Jacob Berry, but 2022 was just the stepping stone season for what Johnson was capable of bringing to Baton Rouge.
Following that first year, Johnson brought in the top transfer class in the country with White, Skenes, and Christian Little plus the top freshman class with Chase Shores, Gavin Guidry, Brady Neal, and others.
LSU was ready to roll towards a title with Crews leading the charge.
When you look at the history of LSU Baseball, there are plenty of players that you could consider the greatest ever: Todd Walker, Ben McDonald, Eddy Furniss, Alex Bregman, and Albert Belle. Across its seven national championships, many greats have donned the purple and gold.
But I still think Crews is the best to ever do it at The Box.
Crews was the heart and soul of this baseball program for the three years he was in Baton Rouge. When you combine that with the numbers and accolades he was able to put up, it’s clear to me that he should be referred to as the greatest LSU baseball player ever and the #3 should never be worn again.