Murray State University Athletics
Crawford Elevated to Assistant
7/14/2016 11:29:00 AM | Baseball
Murray State head baseball coach Kevin Moulder has announced the promotion of Grayson Crawford to assistant coach after Crawford spent the 2016 season as a volunteer assistant with the Racers.
"I want to thank Coach Moulder for the opportunity to continue to be a part of the staff here at Murray State," said Crawford.
"My family and I are excited about this opportunity within the Racer family. I am extremely humbled to be a part of the rich tradition here at MSU and I'm ready to continue my work with the program."
Crawford came to MSU after spending the 2015 season at Lindsey Wilson College as the lead assistant and recruiting coordinator for the Blue Raiders.
While at LWC, Crawford helped guide the Blue Raiders to their first appearance in the NAIA Baseball World Series in 2015, and a program-best No. 10 ranking in the country. The Blue Raiders captured the Kingsport Bracket Championship and the Mid-South Conference Tournament title for just the second time in program history last season.
Crawford coached the MSC Player of the Year and NAIA First Team All-American Alex Bautista in 2015. Bautista was later selected in the 22nd round of the MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs. Crawford also coached Washington Nationals signee Carlos Pena.
Crawford came to Lindsey Wilson after two seasons as the head coach at Christian County High School in Hopkinsville. He finished his first season with a 26-15 record and won the district championship, leading Christian County to the Region 2 Championship game. His second season, the Colonels went 21-20 and finished as the District 8 runner-up and again appeared in the Region 2 championship game.
Prior to coaching at Christian County, Crawford was an assistant coach at Pensacola State College (Fla.) for two seasons where he helped 27 student-athletes move on to play at four-year institutions.
Crawford was also the head coach and assistant general manager for three seasons for the Hoptown Hoppers, a collegiate summer wood bat league team. The Hoppers won back-to-back Ohio Valley League Championships in 2012 and 2013 under Crawford.
Crawford has spent time as an assistant coach at Stillman College (Ala.) as well, helping the program win the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships.
Crawford graduated from Stillman with a Bachelor's degree in physical education in 2010. He and his wife, Lee, who is a 2009 graduate of Murray State, have two children, Ava Gray and Evan.
