Crabtree detoured in first season, still excels
Jun. 12—Top high school baseball players are always welcome at Grace Christian School. There are just two things to be aware of. One is that the Crusaders expect all of their players to put the team above self. The other is that no one is allowed to wear the number 3.
That is retired in honor of past Grace Christian great Brandon Crabtree.
Crabtree, who played four seasons for the Crusaders (2020-23) and helped the team win its first-ever NCHSAA state title in 2022, took an unusual detour in his college journey as a freshman.
Crabtree, whose number was retired by Grace a year ago after a career where he hit .631 with 31 home runs and 159 RBI in 65 games, had signed with NC State during his senior season, and if all had gone well, he would be in Omaha for the College World Series this week. However, after enrolling in Raleigh last fall, Crabtree was injured and unable to participate in fall baseball for the Wolfpack.
While no one doubts his ability to play baseball at that level, Crabtree was seriously behind in being able to compete for a spot in the NC State lineup and eventually decided that a mid-year transfer to another program would further his development as far as baseball was concerned. At the end of the semester, Crabtree transferred to NJCAA Region X powerhouse Gaston College in Dallas, NC, a team that made the NJCAA College World Series in 2023.
The Rhinos are filled with players in similar situations to the one Crabtree found himself in—Division I caliber talents who either got hurt, caught in a numbers game, or just were not happy where they were. He was one of 15 former NCAA D1 players playing for Gaston this spring. Two of Crabtree's teammates, Austin Renn and Kaden Varela-Payne, are actually playing for the Sanford Spinners this summer.
"There's a lot of energy and people here are working hard every day," Crabtree said early in Gaston's season. "It's a great program with great facilities and everything else."
The move turned out to be a good one for Crabtree, who started on a team that won the Region X regular-season title, went 51-8 and was ranked No. 1 in the nation for much of the season before being upset in the Region X tournament, one game short of a return to the World Series.
He played in 49 games for the Rhinos, hitting .331 (50-for-151), with six home runs, 55 RBI, and 45 runs scored. He was outstanding in the field, with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage on 81 chances, playing around the infield but mostly at third base, the position he usually played at Grace Christian.
He played in his first college game on Jan. 27 against Guilford Tech, and had his first hit the next day against the same team. His first home run came on Feb. 10 in a win over Cleveland Community College.
Crabtree's game as a collegian to date came on St. Patrick's Day in a game at USC Lancaster, where he was never put out in four plate appearances. He homered in the first and second innings; a two-run shot in the first and a three-run shot in the second, and was later hit by a pitch and walked, scoring all four times in a 21-10 Gaston win. He went 3-for-3 with three runs scored, three RBI and two doubles in a win over USC Union on April 4.
With the Crusaders, he was named All-State in each of his final three seasons and was the National Christian School Athletic Association (NCSAA) Hitter of the Year for 2023. Grace finished as NCISAA 1A state runner-up in 2021, won the title a year later, and reached the 2A state semifinals in 2023.
