Valparaiso's Caden Crowell, the 2025 Post-Tribune Baseball Player of the Year, is in ‘best possible position'

Chicago Tribune

a day ago

There are variables involved with recent Valparaiso graduate Caden Crowell's next team.
But about Crowell's most recent team, which won the Class 4A state championship on June 21, there's no uncertainty in his mind.
'It was special,' Crowell said. 'I've played with a lot of different teams. But if I had to pick one team to play on for the rest of my life, it would be this team.'
Behind Crowell, a Notre Dame recruit and Major League Baseball draft prospect, the Vikings made history with their first state title, following their first regional and semistate titles.
In the championship game, the 6-foot-3 Crowell tossed a two-hitter with eight strikeouts and two walks in an efficient 85 pitches as the Vikings beat Evansville North 5-0. He also went 4-for-4 with a run-scoring ground-rule double.
Crowell, a left-hander who also plays first base, tied the 4A championship game records for fewest hits allowed by a pitcher, set in 2004, and for the most hits by a batter, most recently accomplished in 2001.
Crowell, the 2025 Post-Tribune Baseball Player of the Year, closed his stellar career for the Vikings (26-5) by going 9-0 with a 0.25 ERA, allowing only three runs — two earned — and 18 hits in 55 innings. He struck out 97 and walked just 11. He also hit .375 with three homers, 24 RBIs and 32 runs scored.
Valparaiso coach Todd Evans said Crowell 'puts himself in the best possible position' through his physical and mental preparation, including working out and studying scouting reports.
'Caden set high goals for himself this year, and he achieved just about every one of them,' Evans said. 'At the beginning of the year, we always meet as a team at my house, and we set individual and team goals. His individual goal was to be Gatorade player of the year. He did not achieve that, unfortunately. But he's going to end up achieving just about every other goal.
'He's a North-South All-Star. … We win a state championship. There's just plenty of other accolades that are going to make his senior year very, very memorable.'
Crowell established himself as an impact player when he was a freshman. But he saved his best for last.
'My velo was up from last year, so it's easier to put guys away earlier,' Crowell said. 'But pitching-wise, it was just a confidence level. It was knowing that when I go out there and have my best stuff, there's no one in the country who can touch me. I just go out there and just say, 'Here's my stuff, have at it. If you get a hit, good for you. The next guy's not going to.'
'And just the trust factor of my team behind me, that was huge too. But it was just knowing having the most confidence going into every game and just attacking guys and not pitching around them.'
Crowell said he weighed 210 pounds at the beginning of the season, up from 190, but settled in between 200 and 205. He boosted his speed on the bases, his endurance on the mound and the velocity of his fastball.
'I was up to 92 (mph) last year, and I was up to 94 this year,' Crowell said. 'But my tail-end velocity is what really went up. I was sitting 2 to 3 miles an hour harder consistently throughout the whole game, and I could hold my velocity. In the regional championship, I was still up to 93 in the last inning, and that was really good.'
Crowell also produced offensively, particularly later in the season.
'Hitting-wise, I started out slow,' he said. 'I was putting so much pressure on myself hitting because I wanted to get my name out there as a two-way and really assert myself as that. Finally, I was like, 'I just need to relax.' I hit like .600 in the postseason and just went off from there. It definitely was just the confidence in the work I put in in the offseason and trusting that.'
Where that work takes Crowell, who was committed to Louisville earlier in his high school career, remains to be seen. He's scheduled to report to Notre Dame on Aug. 25. The draft begins July 13.
'We'll see what happens,' he said. 'I've definitely had a lot of teams interested, but it's going to be a tough decision to make. I'll be talking with my family, my people that are in my corner, my support system, just seeing what they all say and seeing what's the best option for me for the long run.'
Evans knows Crowell has options.
'At the beginning of the year, that's the time when a lot of scouts are more active because once the college season gets going, it's a little bit more difficult to swing by those high school stadiums,' Evans said. 'But at the end of the year, we're facing Lake Central and Josh Flores is on the mound, and every MLB team is represented. We're facing Logan Cotton against Crown Point the week after, every MLB team is represented. When we're facing Javy Carrera against Boone Grove, every radar gun is up behind the backstop.
'I don't know where his draft status is right now, but it's definitely a possibility. It's definitely something on the radar. If and when that comes to fruition, decisions will have to be made. Obviously, Caden and his dad are well aware of what the process can look like, and they've taken steps to make sure if and when that happens, they're going to be in the best position possible, whether it be academically, athletically at Notre Dame, or playing for a professional baseball team.'
Indeed, Crowell can rely on his father, Jim, as a particularly valuable resource. A 1992 Valparaiso graduate, Jim Crowell played at the University of Indianapolis and then spent 13 seasons in professional baseball, including parts of three in the major leagues.
'We've always had a unique bond,' Caden Crowell said. 'Being able to really appreciate him and understand he's made it to the highest level and he's done it with the best, you have to admit dad's right. The high school me wants to be like, 'No, I know what I'm talking about. You don't.' But you trust he knows what he's talking about.
'He's always been someone I've looked up to. He was an undrafted free agent and made his way to the big leagues. That's from hard work and being able to be the best you. He's someone I look up to in all facets of life, just the way he works and how much he cares about me and helped me be the best I can be.'
Jim Crowell has been a coach for Caden and some of his teammates for as long as he can remember, including as part of the Vikings' staff, adding to the significance of their state title.
'He's the reason I am where I am today,' Caden Crowell said. 'He's given everything to me. He's helped me become the best me.
'When we were growing up, we had this team with my dad, Triple Crown Lightning, so we've been playing together since we were like 8. This has always been a goal of ours, and without my teammates, without their support and the coaches' support, we would have never gotten to this point. The reason we got to where we are is just because our team went out there and played for each other. There was no one for themselves. It was awesome.'