Dylan Crews was selected No. 2 overall by the Nationals in the 2023 MLB Draft. Here’s everything you need to know about the LSU star.

FAST FACTS
Position: OF
Ht/Wt: 6-foot-0, 205 lbs.
B/T: Right/right
DOB: Feb. 26, 2002
College: Louisiana State
High school: Lake Mary (Lake Mary, Fla.)
Born: Altamonte Springs, Fla.

He’s a five-tool prospect

While Crews’ 70-grade hit tool (signifying plus-plus) is his best attribute, the outfielder grades out as above average across the board. MLB Pipeline gave his power and speed a 60-grade and his arm and defense a 55-grade on the 20-80 scouting scale. According to Pipeline, most scouts think Crews has the tools to stick in center field as a big leaguer.

One American League scouting executive had especially high praise for Crews, comparing him to another college stud who recently went No. 1 overall.

“Crews is the best overall prospect since [2019 No. 1 overall Draft pick] Adley Rutschman,” the scouting executive said.

He narrowly missed out on becoming LSU’s second No. 1 overall pick

In addition to winning six national championships since 1991, the LSU baseball program has a history of producing top MLB talent. Alex Bregman, Aaron Nola, Kevin Gausman and DJ LeMahieu are some of the notable active players from LSU, and the university also counts former big league All-Stars Albert Belle, Al Dark, Brian Wilson, Joe Adcock and Aaron Hill among its alumni.

Crews wouldn’t even be the first LSU product to go first overall in the Draft. That distinction belongs to pitcher Ben McDonald, who was selected with the No. 1 pick in the 1989 Draft by Baltimore and went on to post a 3.91 ERA over 211 career games between the Orioles and Brewers before shoulder problems cut his career short.

It was instead Crews’ teammate, pitcher Paul Skenes, who was selected No. 1 overall by the Pirates.

Still, the two became the first set of teammates to be selected first and second in the same Draft. Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer, who went first and third overall, respectively, out of UCLA in 2011, were previously the closest baseball has come to seeing that happen.

He is the second Top 3 pick from his high school in eight years

Many high school baseball programs never produce a first-round pick in the MLB Draft, much less multiple. But with Crews going second overall in 2023, he was the second player from Lake Mary High School (Fla.) to be selected within the first three picks since 2015, joining Brendan Rodgers.

The Rockies took Rodgers third overall out of Lake Mary that year, and the infielder made his MLB debut in 2019.

He drew first-round buzz in 2020 but opted to withdraw

Crews was a potential first-round pick three years ago. But with his stock slipping a bit leading up to the 2020 MLB Draft, which came after his final high school season was canceled due to the pandemic, he opted to withdraw his name from consideration and attend LSU, with an eye on improving and establishing himself as an elite Draft prospect.

He did exactly that in three years with the Tigers.

"The one thing I say is that a lot of people took the elevator, but I took the stairs," he told ESPN in March 2023. "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.”

His parents bought a motorhome to attend his college games

After Crews made his decision to attend LSU, his parents purchased a 40-foot Tiffin motorhome so they could commute back and forth from their home in Florida to Crews’ games.

However, they needed to do some remodeling first.

The motorhome’s previous owner was an avid fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide, one of LSU’s chief rivals. According to “The Advocate,” Crews’ father offered the seller extra money to repaint the exterior in LSU’s colors, purple and gold. The seller refused, so Crews’ dad handled the remodel himself.

It remains to be seen if Crews’ dad will go for another redesign to match the Nationals' team colors.

He’s known for his flashy footwear

Crews is a collector of custom cleats, typically rocking a different pair each game. For LSU’s first game of 2023, Crews even broke out a pair of neon blue and green “Spongebob Squarepants” cleats that paid homage to the popular cartoon show.

His college stats were staggering

It’s no surprise that the No. 2 pick excelled against collegiate competition, but the extent of his dominance was still astounding.

Crews was a star from the jump, setting an LSU freshmen record with 18 homers while hitting .362 in 2021. He followed that up with 22 homers and a .349 batting average as a sophomore and finished his junior season with a .426 average, a .567 on-base percentage and a .713 slugging percentage, hitting 18 homers and walking 71 times with only 46 strikeouts in 71 games.

"He’s the best college hitter I’ve seen in a long time," said one National League scouting executive.

Crews won the Golden Spikes Award, which has been bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States since 1978, and led LSU to its seventh national championship in 2023. He would be just the ninth Golden Spikes winner to go first overall in the MLB Draft, joining Bob Horner (1978), Ben McDonald (1989), Phil Nevin (1992), Pat Burrell (1998), David Price (2007), Stephen Strasburg (2009), Bryce Harper (2010) and Adley Rutschman (2019).