STATESBORO – They had a 30-hour car ride from Arizona back to Statesboro. Plenty of time to mull things over, plot their next move or as they thought of it, choose their next dream to follow.

Crawford and Meredith Simmons, high school sweethearts, who had just been married in October, made their annual pilgrimage to Surprise, Arizona, and the Kansa City Royals spring training facility in February filled with optimism for what the upcoming season would bring. 

A star pitcher at Statesboro High School, Crawford had been drafted in the 14th round by the Royals in 2009, and the 2015 season was to be his sixth with the organization. He had overcome a shoulder injury and missed a season recovering from Tommy John surgery, but had played the last two years. Things were looking up.

Until he was released.

"Up until that point, my wife and I knew nothing but me playing baseball," Crawford recalls. "That was a big transition coming home and thinking, 'what in the world are going to do now?'"

Growing up in Statesboro, Crawford played just about every sport, but two became his passions – baseball and golf. Springs were spent on the diamond, and summers were spent at Forest Heights Country Club.

"We had a pretty good group of juniors at Forest Heights when I was growing up, and our parents would drop us off in the morning and we would stay up there all day long, playing and practicing," says Crawford. "Our parents would come pick us up when it got dark. All my summer time as a kid was basically spent at Forest Heights. That's where I grew up playing and where I learned the game."
 
He played both sports in seventh and eighth grade, and played some junior golf events when he could, but when ninth grade rolled around, he had to make a decision.

"I went with baseball thinking that with baseball, you have a pretty small window to play, and with golf, you can play golf the rest of your life," says Crawford. "So I put all my eggs in the baseball basket, so to speak, and played golf leisurely when I could. I would play in the summer and a little in the fall, but when spring was in, it was pretty much all baseball."

Faced with a new challenge in 2015, the ride back from Arizona provided plenty of time to think and talk and plan. Crawford and Meredith knew they wanted to live in Statesboro, where both their families reside, and they knew if college was in Crawfords' future, he wanted to attend Georgia Southern. It was time to follow dream number two.

"I love playing golf, and I know I don't want to play any more baseball so let's move the eggs from the baseball basket into the golf basket," he remembers thinking.

The Royals had a deal in which they would pay for up to eight semesters of Crawford's education, but he had a two-year window from the day he was released to enroll in school. With the opportunity for funding in his back pocket and two years to work with, Crawford turned his attention to golf.

When he got back to Statesboro, he began working with local pro John Smith, and his game started to improve rather dramatically. He also reached out to Georgia Southern coach Carter Collins to pick his brain on all things golf related. The hard work began to pay off as he won the Forest Height's Men's Club Championship that summer.

"From March until August, I played and practiced as much as I could and learned everything I could," says Crawford.

Collins called him in August, just before a Georgia Southern application deadline and told him that if he could get everything in before the deadline and was accepted into Georgia Southern, he had a preferred walk-on spot on the golf team. Crawford jumped all over it and enrolled as a true freshman at the ripe old age of 23.

They devised a plan that he would play and qualify with the team but that he would not play in any tournaments. Take it slow, take the pressure off and build some confidence was the thought process. Unfortunately, he played so well in the first qualifier that he torpedoed the plan and earned an individual spot in the Camden Collegiate.  It served as validation for the "old guy" to himself and his teammates.

"That's exactly what they were probably thinking, 'who's the old guy?'" Crawford says with a laugh. "I'm sure they had their questions. I don't know about them, but I do know it felt good for me to prove to myself that I have a lot to learn but I can compete with these guys."

Now a senior co-captain, Crawford has embraced the leadership role as the elder statesman from the start of his career. He and Meredith are referred to as "Mom and Dad" by his teammates and provide an added layer of support for a group of 18-22 year olds away from home for the first time. When a home-cooked meal is in order, it's off to Mom and Dad's place, and the guys on the team know that they can go to Crawford and Meredith when they need help with anything.

"I always felt like I was a big brother to everybody," says Crawford. "I hope they are learning something from me. I hope I'm fulfilling that role of being a co-captain and doing my part there, but to say I'm learning from them on the golf course would be an understatement. I'm learning so much more from these guys than they are learning from me. There's no doubt. I'm not ashamed to pick their brains and not scared to ask them questions to try to learn more about this game and more about myself. And still at the same time be there for them in any way that I can."

One teammate he has learned a lot from is fellow senior and co-captain Steven Fisk, who has built a resume that rivals just about anybody in the program's illustrious history. Crawford is a sponge when it comes to golf, and Fisk has taught him a lot about course management. 

"Steven has done an unbelievable job, especially this year, in helping guys with course management," says Crawford. "He manages his way around a golf course so well. Not everybody shows up to a tournament with everything firing on all cylinders, and Steven knows how to plot his way and control his misses around a golf course so well, and that's why he's near or at the top of the leaderboard week in and week out."

The two Eagle seniors will play in their final Schenkel Invitaional March 15-17 at Forest Heights Country Club. Both have played in the previous three, and they admit their last one brings with it a host of bittersweet thoughts and emotions.  

"As a kid, you walk out there and see those guys playing and you look up to them and think they are all like PGA Tour players and you want to be just like them," says Crawford, who grew up looking forward to the Schenkel at his home club each year. "To say that I've played in four Schenkels is a pretty awesome feeling."

"It's really cool to be a part of my fourth one, and the Schenkel is always something I'll want to come back to, given the opportunity," says Fisk. "It's something I'll definitely miss. It's a different type of week for us, and it's really special."

Their paths to their fourth Schenkel could not have been more diverse, and they will have different roles this weekend. Fisk will occupy his usual spot in the lineup, while Crawford will play as an individual, but the duo will contribute to the performance of the team in any way they can. 

"I certainly want to try to round it out and put a nice pretty bow on it and being the last one, we definitely want to make it special," says Crawford. "I want to do whatever I can to help the program win the Schenkel this year." 

'The key for the team is consistency," says Fisk. "It's the type of golf course that if you have an average, day you can get left behind. So every single day we have to show up and post a good number."

Fisk has his sights set on a professional golf career, while Crawford's future plans beyond graduation are a bit more uncertain.

"I joke around with my wife all the time saying that baseball was dream number one, and I got to live that out, luckily, and now I'm getting to live out dream number two, which is college golf, which has been amazing," he says. "I'm not really sure what the third dream is yet, but hopefully, we'll find that out and live it out as long as we can. I love golf and I love baseball so if I'm around either of those games in any capacity, I could see myself being very happy."