2023 MLB Draft Begins Sunday AS LSU Baseball Seeks To Make History

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes and centerfielder Dylan Crews on Sunday seek to become the first players from the same school to be selected first and second overall in the MLB Draft.

Rounds 1-2 of the draft will begin at 6 p.m. CT on Sunday in Seattle, and television coverage will be provided by ESPN and the MLB Network. Sunday’s rounds will also be streamed on ESPN +, and they may be viewed on MLB.com.

LSU coach Jay Johnson will be a featured guest panelist during the network TV coverage on Sunday.

Rounds 3-10 will be held starting at 1 p.m. CT Monday, and the draft will conclude Tuesday with Rounds 11-20 beginning at 1 p.m. CT. The draft rounds on Monday and Tuesday may be viewed on MLB.com.

If Skenes or Crews is the first overall pick on Sunday, he would become the second LSU player to the No. 1 overall selection in the MLB Draft. Right-handed pitcher Ben McDonald was the No. 1 overall pick in 1989 by the Baltimore Orioles.

LSU has had two players selected in the first round in two previous drafts – second baseman Todd Walker (Minnesota) and shortstop Russ Johnson (Houston) in 1994; and second baseman Mike Fontenot (Baltimore) and outfielder Todd Linden (San Francisco) in 2001.

MLB.com ranks Skenes as the No. 1 overall draft prospect for 2023, and Crews is rated No. 2. Other LSU players among the MLB.com Top 250 Prospects are right-handed pitcher Ty Floyd (No. 58), right-handed pitcher Grant Taylor (No. 102) and outfielder/first baseman Tre’ Morgan (No. 137).

Skenes, the 2023 Dick Howser Award winner, the D1 Baseball National Player of the Year, and the SEC Pitcher of the Year, compiled a 13-2 record and a 1.69 ERA in 122.2 innings with 20 walks and an SEC-record 209 strikeouts. He finished No. 1 in the nation in strikeouts (209), strikeouts per nine innings (15.33) and WHIP (0.75).

Skenes, a product of Lake Forest, Calif., finished No. 2 in the nation in ERA (1.69), No. 3 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (10.45), and No. 5 in hits allowed per nine innings (5.28). He was voted the Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series, as he was 1-0 in two starts with a 1.15 ERA in 15.2 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits with two walks and 21 strikeouts.

Skenes posted a win over Tennessee (June 17) in LSU’s opening game of the CWS, working 7.2 innings and allowing two runs on five hits with one walk and 12 strikeouts. He then faced Wake Forest in the CWS semifinal round (June 22) on just four days’ rest and limited the Deacons to no runs on two hits in 8.0 innings with one walk and nine strikeouts.

Skenes, a member of the 2023 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll, pledged $10 for every strikeout he recorded this season to Folds of Honor, a nonprofit organization that provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of military and first responders who have died or been disabled.

Crews, a junior from Longwood, Fla., batted .426 (110-for-258) for LSU’s 2023 National Championship team with 16 doubles, two triples, 18 homers, 70 RBI and 100 runs. He was voted to the College World Series All-Tournament Team, batting .375 (12-for-32) in the CWS with one double, one triple, one homer, three RBI and 11 runs scored.

The 2023 Golden Spikes Award winner and the SEC Male Athlete of the Year, Crews finished No. 1 in the nation in runs scored (100), No. 1 in walks (71), No. 2 in on-base percentage (.567), No. 2 in base hits (110) and No. 3 in batting average (.426). He completed the year with a reached base streak of 75 games, which included all 71 games of this season and the last four games of the 2022 season.

Crews is a two-time member of the SEC Community Service Team for his exemplary work in the Baton Rouge area with families affected by autism. He was also named to the 2023 SEC Academic Honor Roll.

Floyd, a native of Rockmart, Ga., was voted to the 2023 College World Series All-Tournament Team, as he made two starts and recorded 27 strikeouts in 13.0 innings while limiting opponents to five runs on seven hits and a .156 batting average.

He recorded a brilliant outing in Game 1 of the College World Series Finals vs. Florida (June 24), working 8.0 innings and allowing three runs on eight hits with one walk and a career-high 17 strikeouts. The 17 Ks represented the most by an LSU pitcher in a CWS game and it tied the CWS record for most strikeouts in a game prior to extra innings.

Floyd posted a 7-0 record on the year with a 4.35 ERA in 91.0 innings, recording 37 walks and 120 Ks. Floyd finished No. 4 in the SEC in strikeouts (120) and No. 5 in the league in opponent batting avg. (.208), and his strikeouts total (120) placed him No. 12 in the nation.

Taylor, a product of Florence, Ala., did not pitch this season after suffering an elbow injury in February. He pitched in 17 games (two starts) as a true freshman in 2022, recording a 4-1 mark and a 5.81 ERA in 31.0 innings with 21 walks and 39 strikeouts.

Taylor is a member of the 2023 SEC Academic Honor Roll majoring in Finance.

Morgan, a New Orleans, La., native, batted .316 (85-for-269) on the year with 15 doubles, four triples, nine homers, 53 RBI and 66 runs. He finished No. 2 in the SEC in triples, No. 2 in sacrifice flies (8), No. 5 in hit-by-pitch (18), No. 8 in hits and No. 9 in runs scored.

Morgan was voted to the 2023 College World Series All-Tournament Team, batting .344 (11-for-32) with three doubles, one triple, six RBI and six runs. He hit a team-high .556 (5-for-9) in the NCAA Super Regional versus Kentucky with one double, two homers, three RBI and four runs.

Morgan hit two homers in Game 1 of the Super Regional, marking his second career two-homer game; the first came earlier this season (May 14) versus Mississippi State.

(Release via LSU Athletics)