The roar at Charles Schwab Field had barely settled when Kade Anderson’s teammates unleashed their signature dogpile, the kind reserved for the rarest of heroes. In a season packed with standout outings, nothing was brighter than his complete-game shutout in the College World Series championship against Coastal Carolina. As grass and dirt flew, Anderson rose from the heap, LSU’s new legend—with Baseball America’s first-ever College Pitcher of the Year Award freshly minted in his résumé.
A draft-eligible sophomore, Anderson was a picture of dominance all spring, but he hit another gear under Omaha’s lights. Across 16 CWS innings, he yielded a lone run and fanned 17, personifying ice-cold calm on the biggest stage. “He toys with you,” LSU shortstop Steven Milam said. Anderson’s final masterpiece—only the third complete-game shutout in a CWS final—earned him Most Outstanding Player honors and a place in college baseball lore.
Back in Baton Rouge, numbers tell a similar story: a 3.18 ERA over 119 innings, a nation-leading 180 strikeouts and just 35 walks across 19 starts. Eleven times he punched out at least 10 batters. Never once did the SEC’s elite lineups rattle him. “He’s like a lion out there,” outfielder Derek Curiel marveled. “It’s not just the stuff. It’s the confidence and the feel. The way he attacks.”
At 6-foot-2 and 186 pounds, Anderson’s arsenal is as imposing as his poise. His fastball, heavy and true, sits in the low-to-mid 90s. But hitters quake at the sight of his two breaking balls—a hard slider and a sharp curve, both spinning north of 3,000 rpm. Curiel faced him three times in intrasquad scrimmages and emerged with a walk, a groundout and a strikeout. “I considered that a win,” he laughed. “He wants to embarrass you.”
That relentlessness vaulted Anderson up draft boards. Once eyed as a Day-2 pick, he’s now a consensus top-10 talent—and a dark horse for the No. 1 overall selection. “His next pitch should be for someplace in the Washington Nationals organization,” LSU coach Jay Johnson declared in Omaha. “It’s not close.”
Anderson leaves Baton Rouge with a 3.38 career ERA and 239 strikeouts in 157⅓ innings—a meteoric rise from intriguing freshman to CWS Most Outstanding Player in just 18 months. “You’re getting a competitor,” third baseman Michael Braswell said. “An ace in the rotation. He’s only going to get better.”
Baseball America’s decision to create a standalone College Pitcher of the Year Award underscores how much scouts covet elite arms. In a season defined by durability, dominance and unyielding will, Kade Anderson set the gold standard. “He’s just a workhorse,” Milam said. “He’s one of my best friends and one of the best people I’ve ever met. He’s humble, comes from a great family and gives you everything he has every time out.” It’s that blend of talent and character that promises even greater chapters still unwritten.
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