Dylan Crews, Angel Reese named 2023 Corbett Award winners

NEW ORLEANS – Dylan Crews, a national champion baseball star for LSU, and Angel Reese, a national champion basketball star for the Tigers, have been selected as the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Corbett Award winners for 2022-23. Since 1967, the Sugar Bowl’s Corbett Awards have recognized the top amateur athletes in the state of Louisiana.

Dylan Crews Full Story

Angel Reese Full Story

Each year’s Corbett Award winners are selected by the Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, a group of current and former media members who annually recognize a variety of annual award-winners and the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame. The group also selects the Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month each month.

Overall, 24 individuals and three teams will be honored this year for their achievements at the Committee’s annual awards banquet on Saturday, August 5.

Outstanding Boys’ Prep Coach of the Year, New Orleans: Cullen Doody, Jesuit Cross Country
Outstanding Girls’ Prep Coach of the Year, New Orleans: Chris Prator, St. Scholastica Swimming
Outstanding Female Amateur Athlete, New Orleans: Alia Armstrong, LSU Track & Field
Outstanding Male Amateur Athlete, New Orleans: Tyjae Spears, Tulane Football
Jimmy Collins Special Awards: Tulane Football & Lisa Stockton (Tulane Women’s Basketball Coach)
Outstanding Boys’ Prep Team, New Orleans: Carver Basketball
Outstanding Girls’ Prep Team, New Orleans: McGehee Track & Field
Outstanding Collegiate Coach, Louisiana: Kim Mulkey, LSU Women’s Basketball
Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Inductee: Grace Daley, Tulane Basketball
Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Inductee: Frank Monica, St. Charles Catholic Football
Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Inductee: Steve Mura, Redemptorist/Tulane Baseball
Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Inductee: Wayne Reese, Carver/McDonogh 35 Football
Corbett Award – Male: Dylan Crews, LSU Baseball
Corbett Award – Female: Angel Reese, LSU Basketball

Crews was selected over an impressive field of candidates from around the state including fellow finalists Seth Alexander (Xavier University Track & Field), Tyjae Spears (Tulane Football), and his own teammate Paul Skenes. Alexander made history by becoming XULA’s first NAIA national champion in track and field when he won the triple jump with a school-record distance of 15.39 meters/50 feet 6 inches – he was the only jumper at nationals to reach 50 feet. Spears ran for 1,581 yards and 19 touchdowns as he led the Green Wave to a magical season that featured its first-ever American Athletic Conference championship and a school record 12 victories. Skenes, who was selected as the winner of the Dick Howser Trophy, given annually to the most outstanding player in NCAA Division I baseball, led the nation in strikeouts and WHIP while ranking second in wins and earned-run average. He was also the Most Outstanding Player at the College World Series.

Joining Reese as finalists for the Corbett Award were an elite trio of athletes: Alia Armstrong (LSU Track & Field), Haleigh Bryant (LSU Gymnastics), and Ellie Schneider (Country Day Volleyball/Basketball/Softball). Armstrong picked up a pair of All-America honors on the track for the Tigers as she finished third in the nation in the 100-meter hurdles and helped LSU to a third-place finish in the 4×100-meter relay. Bryant was the top performer for the LSU gymnastics program which finished fourth at the NCAA Championships – her 39.725 all-around score at the national championships was the best score in a postseason competition in school history. Schneider, who is committed to play volleyball at Kansas, led Country Day to the LHSAA Division V volleyball state championship and was also a star for the Cajuns’ basketball and softball teams.

The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee came together when James Collins spearheaded a group of sports journalists to form a sports awards committee to immortalize local sports history. For 13 years, the committee honored local athletes each month and a variety of annual award winners. In 1970, the Sugar Bowl stepped in to sponsor and revitalize the committee, leading to the creation of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, honoring 10 legends from the Crescent City in its first induction class. While adding the responsibility of selecting Hall of Famers, the committee has continued to recognize the top amateur athlete in the Greater New Orleans area each month as well as a range of annual awards – the honors enter their 67th year in 2023.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 102 Hall of Fame players, 52 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 89-year history. The 90th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Semifinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2024. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting nearly $2.4 billion into the local economy in the last decade.