OMAHA, Neb.— LSU’s Dylan Crews was named the 45th winner of the Golden Spikes Award today during a live presentation on ESPN. Created in 1978, the Golden Spikes Award honors the top amateur baseball player in the United States based on their athletic ability, sportsmanship, character, and overall contribution to the sport.
Crews becomes the second LSU player in program history to earn the award, joining 1989 winner Ben McDonald as the only two Tigers to win. He is the 10th winner from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), which surpasses the Pac-12 for the most all-time Golden Spikes Award winners. Prior to Crews, the most recent award winner from the SEC was Kevin Kopps (Arkansas) in 2021.
“Dylan Crews has been one of the nation’s best college baseball players since he arrived at LSU in 2021,” said USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO Paul Seiler. “His extraordinary 2023 season, in addition to his generous charitable work off the baseball field, make him an extremely worthy winner of this award. We are so proud to welcome Dylan into the Golden Spikes Award brotherhood and celebrate all of his achievements this season.”
Crews has been one of college baseball’s biggest stars in 2023, leading the Tigers to the College World Series Finals while sitting near the top of the national leaderboard in most offensive categories. The junior has reached base in all 69 games in 2023 and leads the country in runs scored with 95. He owns a .562 on-base percentage, good for second in the nation, while his 104 hits rank fifth and his .418 batting average is sixth-best in the country. Crews–who has drawn a second-most 70 walks–also had a 26-game hitting streak spanning from February 19 to April 25.
In addition to the national leaderboard, Crews led many offensive statistical categories in the SEC en route to earning the conference’s Player of the Year Award for the second consecutive season. His statistics in conference play were just as impressive as his regular-season numbers, as he batted .405 with a .545 on-base percentage to rank first in the conference in both categories. Crews drew a conference-leading 27 walks in SEC games and tied for the league lead in hits with 45. Additionally, he ranked in the top ten in conference slugging percentage (.685) and total bases (76).
AWARD HISTORY: Ultimate guide and every winner of Golden Spikes
Crews took home several conference awards in addition to being honored as the SEC Player of the Year, as he was named to the All-SEC First Team and earned a spot on the conference’s All-Defensive Team thanks to his performance in center field. Crews, a three-time SEC Player of the Week, was also placed on the SEC Community Service Team for his work with Families Helping Families of Greater Baton Rouge, a non-profit resource center organized and directed by family members of individuals with disabilities.
Crews joins a group of past winners that includes Ivan Melendez (2022), Kopps (2021), Adley Rutschman (2019), Andrew Vaughn (2018), Brendan McKay (2017), Kyle Lewis (2016), Andrew Benintendi (2015), A.J. Reed (2014), Kris Bryant (2013), Mike Zunino (2012), Bryce Harper (2010), Stephen Strasburg (2009), Buster Posey (2008), and David Price (2007).
Golden Spikes Award winners have had tremendous success in the Major Leagues. Of the 44 previous winners, six have earned Rookie of the Year honors, including Lewis in 2020. Additionally, three have won the Cy Young Award, three were named MVP, and 11 have won a World Series championship as a player or manager, combining for 18 championships. Twenty previous winners have also been named to at least one All-Star Game roster as a player or manager, combining for 61 total selections.
The award winner was selected through the distribution of ballots to a voting body consisting of national baseball media, select professional baseball personnel and USA Baseball staff, and the previous winners of the award, totaling a group of more than 150 voters. Fan voting continued to be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2023 and contributed to the voting total.
Golden Spikes Award Winners:
(Note: No winner is listed for the 2020 season due to the pandemic)
- 2023: Dylan Crews - LSU
- 2022: Ivan Melendez - Texas
- 2021: Kevin Kopps - Arkansas
- 2019: Adley Rutschman - Oregon State
- 2018: Andrew Vaughn - California
- 2017: Brendan McKay - Louisville
- 2016: Kyle Lewis - Mercer
- 2015: Andrew Benintendi - Arkansas
- 2014: A.J. Reed - Kentucky
- 2013: Kris Bryant - San Diego
- 2012: Mike Zunino - Florida
- 2011: Trevor Bauer - UCLA
- 2010: Bryce Harper - Southern Nevada
- 2009: Stephen Strasburg - San Diego State
- 2008: Buster Posey - Florida State
- 2007: David Price - Vanderbilt
- 2006: Tim Lincecum - Washington
- 2005: Alex Gordon - Nebraska
- 2004: Jered Weaver - Long Beach State
- 2003: Rickie Weeks - Southern
- 2002: Khalil Greene - Clemson
- 2001: Mark Prior - Southern California
- 2000: Kip Bouknight - South Carolina
- 1999: Jason Jennings - Baylor
- 1998: Pat Burrell - Miami
- 1997: J.D. Drew - Florida State
- 1996: Travis Lee - San Diego State
- 1995: Mark Kotsay - Cal State Fullerton
- 1994: Jason Varitek - Georgia Tech
- 1993: Darren Dreifort - Wichita State
- 1992: Phil Nevin - Cal State Fullerton
- 1991: Mike Kelly - Arizona State
- 1990: Alex Fernandez - Miami Dade CC
- 1989: Ben McDonald - LSU
- 1988: Robin Ventura - Oklahoma State
- 1987: Jim Abbott - Michigan
- 1986: Mike Loynd - Florida State
- 1985: Will Clark - Mississippi State
- 1984: Oddibe McDowell - Arizona State
- 1983: Dave Magadan - Alabama
- 1982: Augie Schmidt - New Orleans
- 1981: Mike Fuentes - Florida State
- 1980: Terry Francona - Arizona
- 1979: Tim Wallach - Cal State Fullerton
- 1978: Bob Horner - Arizona State
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