Flanked by his parents Skip and Breni Crabtree, Scott flashes that beamish smile moments after putting ink on his letter of intent to play baseball at UNO.

View the Photo Gallery of Scott Crabtree’s Signing Event

Senior outfielder Scott Crabtree, whose consistency swinging the bat victimized many an opponent pitcher, inked a national letter of intent on Wednesday to play baseball at the University of New Orleans.

Often batting in the clean-up position, Crabtree emerged last season as a top-performing player while a junior. A right-hander who bats left, Crabtree anchored left field, and sometimes played third base, for the Blue Jays’ varsity squad as well as for Retif Oil, Jesuit’s American Legion team. He also victimized opponents who hit the ball anywhere near him, robbing them with his circus catches.

His .356 batting average was the second highest among Blue Jays on the varsity team last season. And if a shoulder injury had not sidelined Crabtree for a couple of weeks last summer, his .333 batting average for Retif Oil would likely have been equal to, or even higher, than that of his prep season.

Scott Crabtree hit .356 during the 2014 Blue Jay prep season and .333 for Retif Oil last summer.

The ceremony brought his parents, Breni and Skip Crabtree, his two brothers, a host of relatives, and numerous teammates to St. Ignatius Hall during the lunch hour. Flanked by his parents, a beaming “Crab” — as he is affectionately called by his teammates — formally signed the papers sealing the deal. Following his graduation from Jesuit next May, he becomes a Privateer on Coach Ron Maestri’s UNO team. Crabtree will join two other Blue Jays currently playing for UNO: Blake Baker ’14, who attended the ceremony, and Mitch Alexander ’13.

Jesuit head baseball coach Joey Latino congratulated Crabtree on “this very special day for you and your family.” Coach Latino, himself a pitcher for the Privateers, said he remembers a meeting with Crabtree before the season began last year. Crabtree had come up through Jesuit’s baseball program playing third base, but Coach Latino had plans to move him to left field. 

“I told him the importance about accepting new challenges and asked him if he would consider playing in left field,” Coach Latino recalled. “And Scott said to me, ‘Coach, I’ll play on top of the left field foul pole if it helps the team.’ That response really spoke to Scott’s character, his sense of team, and to his substance as a player. Scott is successful because of his hard work, his dedication, and his selflessness. As his coach, I am very proud of him.” 

For his stellar play in the field and at the plate during Jesuit’s 2014 season, Nola.com named Crabtree to the All-District 9-5A team.

Baseball runs in the Crabtree family. His older brother Kyle is a 2012 Jesuit graduate who played center field on that year’s state championship team, which marked Coach Latino’s debut as head coach of the Jays. Younger brother Todd, currently a sophomore at Jesuit, has played baseball during his first two years as a Blue Jay. Todd is a pitcher and also plays third base. And not to be left out, their father Skip Crabtree was a pitcher for the University of Louisiana at Monroe when it was known as Northeast Louisiana University.

At UNO, Scott intends to major in business administration.

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SportsNola.com: Video – Jesuit’s Scott Crabtree signs with UNO baseball