Arizona Marvelous Ideas: Justin Crawford, son of All-Star outfielder, commits to Arizona baseball

Carl Crawford | Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images

Justin Crawford, the son of former MLB All-Star outfielder Carl Crawford, committed to the Arizona baseball program on Friday.

Crawford, who will join Arizona’s 2022 class, is rounding out his sophomore year at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas.

Congrats to Justin Crawford on his commitment to @ArizonaBaseball! #COMMITTED pic.twitter.com/ZLgW2Oblag
— MLBDevelops (@MLBDevelops) May 1, 2020

An outfielder like his dad, Crawford is listed at 6-2 and 165 pounds according to Perfect Game. In October 2018, a then-14 year old Crawford was profiled by MLB.com at the WWBA Freshman Championships.

His childhood baseball coach, former big leaguer Junior Spivey, told the website, “He has a chance to be better than his dad. He’s driven, he’s hungry, he just wants the information, he loves to be coached. He’s a coach’s dream because he wants to be coached, and you just coach him up, and he understands the game and understands that no stage’s too big for him.”

Justin Crawford said having Carl as his father made him a better player.

“He used to take me to the clubhouse with all the players, so my dad mostly, but even all the players would show me the ropes,” Justin said. “My dad obviously is a big part of my life with baseball and got me to where I am today.”I would say it helps me out a little bit. He would take me out to the field during batting practice, and those balls are obviously hit a lot harder, so I guess it made it a little easier for me. Just help me maybe adjust to the game a lot easier and just knowing what those balls are like off the bat.”

Originally from southern California, Crawford moved to Las Vegas in high school.

The Las Vegas region has become prime recruiting turf for Arizona coach Jay Johnson, whose ties to the area are extensive dating back to his time as coach of the Nevada Wolfpack.

Sophomore catcher Austin Wells attended Bishop Gorman, while junior outfielder Donta Williams went to Legacy High School.

Nick Quintana, an All-American infielder at Arizona and third baseman in the Detroit Tigers organization, is also from Las Vegas.

Crawford becomes the latest offspring of an All-Star outfielder to want to play at Arizona.

Ken Griffey Jr.’s son Trey was a wide receiver for the football program between 2012-2015, while his daughter Teryn competed for the women’s basketball team before medically retiring in 2017.