Ayden Crouse sees himself as Indiana baseball's next breakout transfer outfielder

A year ago, Korbyn Dickerson was a largely forgotten name in college baseball — a Louisville transfer with barely a hit to his name, searching for a place to prove himself. Then he landed at Indiana, and everything changed.

In one season, Dickerson morphed into a breakout All-American. He crushed 19 home runs, drove in 77 runs and anchored the Hoosiers’ outfield from center. His story became an example — the kind of arc transfer players now measure themselves against.

Now, Ayden Crouse believes he’s next in line.

When Crouse announced his commitment to Indiana out of the transfer portal on May 20 — becoming the Hoosiers’ first portal addition of the offseason — he did so believing he can be Indiana’s 2026 version of Korbyn Dickerson.

For the former JUCO All-American honorable mention and Gold Glove outfielder from Gilbert-Chandler Community College in Arizona, the numbers only tell part of the story.

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Crouse hit .391 this past season as a sophomore, scored 74 runs, ripped nine triples, stole 53 bases and finished the season with an OPS of 1.038. He walked more than he struck out. His strikeout rate was just 9%, and he played a pristine center field, tracking balls into the alleys with ease.

But stats alone weren’t what made Indiana take notice — and they aren’t what make Crouse believe he can take the same leap Dickerson did.

What separates Crouse is the mentality — a hunger, a readiness, a chip-on-the-shoulder urgency that comes from being overlooked and underrecruited, and now finally finding a place, and a staff, that believes he can evolve into a star.

When Crouse entered the portal, the bond with Indiana formed quickly. He connected early with hitting coach Zach Weatherford, but what stood out even more was the entire coaching staff’s grounded, genuine approach. Crouse wasn’t sold on a dream — he was welcomed into a vision.

“I established the connection pretty quickly. Coach Weatherford, I got along with him great,” Crouse told TheHoosier.com. “The whole coaching staff is down to earth. They get a lot of things I get and believe a lot of the same things I believe.”

His visit to Bloomington solidified those early feelings. What began as a chance to feel out the program quickly turned into a full commitment.

From the moment he stepped on campus, the scale of Indiana’s operation left an impression. The campus, the facilities, the energy — it was a step up from JUCO in every imaginable way.

“The campus was beautiful,” Crouse said. “The facilities, and the [weight room] being inside the football stadium, I’ve never seen anything like that.”

But what truly sealed it for Crouse wasn’t the facilities. It wasn’t even his face-to-face meeting with the coaching staff — though head coach Jeff Mercer and the staff made a lasting impression by focusing more on Crouse the person than Crouse the player.

Instead, it was a short but meaningful conversation with two of the best Indiana outfielders in recent memory: Devin Taylor and Korbyn Dickerson.

Taylor, Indiana’s all-time home run king and perhaps the greatest to ever wear the cream and crimson, and Dickerson, the breakout star of 2025, told Crouse what he needed to hear.

“I talked to those two, and they said if I’m an outfielder, [Indiana’s] the place to come,” Crouse said. “That was pretty cool to hear.”

But it was Dickerson’s journey that struck the deepest chord with Crouse. A year ago, Dickerson had been in Crouse’s shoes — a center fielder in the portal, looking for a new home.

At Louisville, Dickerson barely touched the field, tallying just 17 at-bats in two years. At Indiana, he exploded. He hit .314 with 19 home runs and 77 RBIs in 56 starts in center field. Now, he’s a likely early-round selection in the 2025 MLB draft.

Crouse saw Dickerson’s transformation in 2025. And he believes he’s next.

“That was one of the reasons I ended up committing,” Crouse said. “[The coaches] showed their development process with players of my same caliber and the proof of what they’ve turned into.”

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What made Dickerson’s rise possible — and what makes Crouse believe he can follow suit — is a tailored development plan.

Indiana’s staff is already working with Crouse on swing mechanics, specifically his load and positioning, with an eye toward unlocking the transfer’s power. Crouse hit just three home runs last season, but his 15 doubles, nine triples and exit velocity data suggest untapped home run potential.

The staff sees it, and Crouse is ready to chase it.

“With me personally, it’s with my load… I’m just not accessing all of my power,” Crouse said. “I have to work on my load and some positioning of where I’m at with my swing. [The coaches] have a lot of video film on what they want to work on for my specific swing.”

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That attention to detail matters, especially as Crouse eyes a starting spot in a wide-open Hoosier outfield. With Taylor, Dickerson and Andrew Wiggins all moving on — to the draft or the portal — Indiana is losing nearly 150 starts from last season’s outfield.

There are returners like Caleb Koskie, Hogan Denny and Cole Decker — as well as a couple of incoming freshmen — but few with substantial innings in the outfield at the college level. Crouse sees the opening, and he’s coming to take it.

“Obviously, I have to go in and earn a spot. Nothing’s ever given,” Crouse said. “But the goal would be to play center field every day. I believe I can do it.”

It’s not hard to believe him. Crouse plays the game at top speed. He led his conference in stolen bases last season and was caught just six times in 59 attempts.

He’s been fast his whole life, and he knows how to weaponize it. He turns singles into triples, applies pressure on defenders and brings chaos to the basepaths.

“I’ve always had speed. I worked on it in high school a lot,” Crouse said. “But I’ve pretty much always been fast.”

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It’s the kind of speed that changes games, but it’s useless if he’s not on base. That’s why Crouse has built his game around plate discipline and contact.

With more walks than strikeouts, a high on-base percentage and a knack for beating out weakly hit balls on the infield, Crouse knows how to get there — and then cause damage once he does.

“I hate striking out. That’s one thing I’ve worked on a lot throughout my career,” he said. “In high school, my strikeout-to-walk ratio wasn’t really the best. So once I got to JUCO, I worked on it — like daily — and it’s paid off.”

Now playing summer ball in Canada, Crouse is counting the days until he can officially begin his Indiana journey — and, if everything goes according to plan, his breakout.

It’s been long road from JUCO to the Big Ten, but the path has already been paved. Dickerson walked it last year. Crouse believes it’s his to walk next year.

“I want to get as good as possible,” Crouse said. “I feel like [Indiana] can get me to be the best player I can be.”

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