LSU centerfielder Dylan Crews has been named the 2023 Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award (BBNCSA) presented by SR Bats. Crews will be honored as the nation’s top college hitter at a gala in the fall in Fort Worth.
The BBNCSA, created by the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation, was open to nominations from all Division I baseball programs in the country. The award takes into account performance at the plate, academics, and personal integrity.
The junior from Longwood, Florida is third in the nation with a .434 batting average. He also has 17 home runs and 67 RBI while leading LSU to a College World Series berth. Crew’s overall game makes him the most likely candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming MLB Draft after being named the SEC Player of the Year this season.
“I would first like to recognize the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award Selection Committee for the work they did this season,” said Tracy Taylor, Executive Director of the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award and the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation.
“This was the deepest and most talented group of players we have seen in the history of the award. It was a very close race. I think the Selection Committee did a great job in selecting Dylan Crews of LSU as the winner of the 2023 Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award presented by SR Bats. Dylan hit over .430 with an on base percentage of .576 and a 1.310 OPS in the toughest league in college baseball. He was the SEC Player of the Year and a consensus All America.
“But that is not the whole story of this student-athlete. Dylan is also on the SEC Community Service Team as well as being an excellent student. He has been recognized for his work with families with physical and mental disabilities in Baton Rouge and with Team Of Dreams in the area. Dylan Crews is a great example of what the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award is all about.”
The BBNCSA began in 2017 as an honor going to the top college hitter in Texas. In 2019, the BBNCSA expanded to more of a regional award covering Division I programs in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma. In 2020, the BBNCSA became a national, however, no one won that year due to the COVID-19 virus which cut the 2020 college baseball season short.
Texas Tech’s Hunter Hargrove was the first to win the award in 2017. Dallas Baptist’s Devlin Granberg took home the honor in 2018 with Texas Tech’s Josh Jung winning the award in 2019. Connor Norby from East Carolina University won the BBNCSA in 2021. Last year’s winner was Ivan Melendez from the University of Texas.