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Crawford, Nichols sign to continue baseball careers
CHARLESTON, Mo. — Two Charleston baseball players signed on the dotted line to continue their academic and athletic careers at the next level.
Dawson Crawford signed to pitch at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau while Luke Nichols signed to Jefferson College in Hillsboro.
For Crawford, the homegrown talent is the first in head coach Michael Minner’s 18-year career to sign to a Division I-level school right out of high school. One of the most notable alumni, James Naile, attended Parkland College, in Champaign, Ill., before transitioning to the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“This is big for our program,” Minner said. “Anytime that you get a kid noticed by somebody at the next level that’s a Division I baseball team, we know that’s very impressive. We’re super excited. Dawson’s been good for us on the mound.”
Crawford joins former Scott City Ram Braden Cox and ex-Cape Central Tiger and Charleston Fighting Squirrel Hunter Hiett as the Redhawks' three Southeast Missouri natives.
Hiett played for the Fighting Squirrels during the 2020 season.
“Coach Sawyers is doing a really good job,” Minner said. “He walked into a position, and they’ve had some injuries. He’s gotten a little bit of a bad rap at times, but he’s a hard-nosed guy that I would trust my kids with, and I love him. He’s my kind of guy. He and I are a lot alike, both hard-nosed, both get after it kind of guys, and he’s a super competitor. He knows what he’s getting in Dawson.”
Both Crawford and Nichols did not play high school baseball their junior seasons after the coronavirus pandemic halted all spring activities.
However, both players started meaningful games for the Fighting Squirrels over the summer.
Crawford pitched to a 6-0 record in 36 1/3 innings. He finished with a 2.31 earned run average, giving up 27 hits and 12 earned runs, while walking 23 and fanning 50.
Overall, Minner is happy to see what he can do at the next level and says the future is bright.
“Dawson's a young kid,” Minner said. “He won’t turn 18 until May or June. He’s got a huge upside. We know that the velocity will be there; he has to work on a few little things and get better and continue to get physically stronger. We think he’s a guy, as a sophomore, that could be a 92-plus guy, so that would be very impressive. I know that if he goes up and puts his heart into things, he’s going to have a chance to get on the mound and be apart of the Redhawk pitching rotation.”
The Redhawks finished 9-8 before the shutdown and were 2-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
“I work super hard, and I feel like this shows,” Crawford said. “I’m super excited. I’m glad my parents get to see me play every game, and he [Sawyers] was super real. Everything he said was super straight with me, and I respect that.”
As for Nichols, the former Bell City Cub transferred to Charleston over the summer and will play for the Bluejays in the upcoming season.
For the Fighting Squirrels, Nichols had a 1.68 earned run average over 33 1/3 innings. He went 4-1, giving up 23 hits, eight earned runs, walking 16, and striking out 55.
“Luke has got a big upside,” Minner said. “We look for Luke, after Jefferson College, he’s probably going to be at a Division-I school. I’ve coached him now for two years in the summer, and he’s a super competitor. He’s a super kid and comes from a great family. He wants to learn and wants to continue to get better. He’s in the weight room now, and he’s getting stronger, and we think that fastball will gain a couple of miles per hour. We worked on a couple of pitches in the fall that we think can be some “out pitches.”
Jefferson College was 16-9 before the season shut down. They had 17 players continue to other schools, including former Sikeston Bulldog Wil Gilmer, who is playing for Arkansas State University.
Out of those 17 players, eight are playing at Division-I schools.
“They’re getting players to go to Division-I,” Nichols said. “That’s my goal for going to junior college. To get developed and getting to do what I need to do and be able to go to the next level.”