Dylan Crews Named 2022-23 SEC Male Athlete of the Year

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – LSU’s Dylan Crews and Florida’s Trinity Thomas have been named the 2022-2023 Roy F. Kramer SEC Male and Female Athletes of the Year by a vote of the league’s athletics directors, Commissioner Greg Sankey announced Thursday.

“Trinity and Dylan represent what it means for a young person to fully participate and succeed as a student and as an athlete in the Southeastern Conference. Trinity and Dylan both achieved the highest levels of competitive excellence—represented by perfect scores, national awards, and championships. We are proud and grateful for their outstanding representation of the SEC and of the accomplishments they have achieved as members of their university communities.”

One of college baseball’s biggest stars this season, Crews helped lead the Tigers to the 2023 College World Series title.  A junior from Longwood, Fla., he was named the winner of the 2023 Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the top amateur baseball player in the U.S.

He was the SEC leader in batting average (.426), on-base percentage (.567), runs (100), hits (110), and walks (71). He also increased his reached base streak to 75 straight games, which includes all 71 games of the 2023 season and the final four games of the 2022 season.

Crews finished No. 1 in the nation in runs and in walks, No. 2 in on-base percentage and in hits, and No. 3 in batting average.

In addition to being honored as the SEC Player of the Year, Crews 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 named to 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.

He has been voted a consensus 2023 First-Team All-American and is projected to be selected first or second in the Major League Baseball draft on Sunday.

Past LSU recipients of the SEC Athlete of the Year Award include:  2020 – Joe Burrow (football); 2010 – Susan Jackson (gymnastics); 2006 – Xavier Carter (men’s track & field); 2006 – Seimone Augustus (women’s basketball); 2002 – Walter Davis (men’s track & field); 1992 – Shaquille O’Neal (men’s basketball); 1991 – Shaquille O’Neal (men’s basketball).

In 2023, Thomas led the nation for the third consecutive season in perfect 10.0s – four in 2021, 12 in 2022 and eight in 2023 – making her the career NCAA 10.0 co-leader. She earned her 28th perfect mark in the final vault competition at the NCAA Championships to help Florida to a runner-up finish.

One of three in the nation with five 2023 Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) All-America regular-season honors, Thomas also earned All-America first-team honors for vault and uneven bars in the NCAA Championships semifinal.

The 2023 SEC Gymnast of Year, Thomas joins Alabama’s Andreé Pickens as the only three-time recipients in the award’s history. She is also one of two individuals in SEC Championship meet history with two 10.0s in a single meet.

The only gymnast in NCAA history with at least five 10.0s on each apparatus for five career Gym Slams, Thomas is also the school career all-arounder leader (30), passing Bridget Sloan (27). She led Florida in 2023 with 29 event wins (9 floor, 7 bars, 5 vault, 5 all-around, 3 beam) and ended her collegiate career as Florida’s career leader with 142 event titles.

Thomas received the Honda Award as the nation’s top collegiate gymnast for the second consecutive season in 2023.

The other 2022-23 male nominees were Bryce Young, Alabama (football); Jaydon Hibbert, Arkansas (track & field); Nate Stoffle, Auburn (swimming & diving); Fred Biondi, Florida (golf); Ethan Quinn, Georgia (tennis); Liam Draxl, Kentucky (tennis); Kemp Alderman, Ole Miss (baseball); Cameron Crump, Mississippi State (track & field); Kobe Brown, Missouri (basketball); Toby Samuel, South Carolina (tennis); Hendon Hooker, Tennessee (football); Sam Bennett, Texas A&M (golf); Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt (golf).

The other 2022-23 female nominees were Kensey McMahon, Alabama (swimming & diving); Britton Wilson, Arkansas (track & field); Maddie Penta, Auburn (softball); Jenny Bae, Georgia (golf); Kayla Kowalik, Kentucky (softball); Angel Reese, LSU (basketball); Jalani Davis, Ole Miss (track & field); Julia Lopez Ramirez, Mississippi State (golf); Arianna Fisher, Missouri (track & field); Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (basketball); Kiki Milloy, Tennessee (softball); Lamara Distin, Texas A&M (track & field);  Beatrice Juskeviciute, Vanderbilt (track & field).

The SEC Athletes of the Year Awards were first presented in 1976 for men and 1984 for women. The award was renamed the Roy F. Kramer Athletes of the Year in 2004 to honor the former Commissioner who served the conference from 1990-2002.