LSU Tigers And Coach Jay Johnson Announce Kade Anderson Big News After Massive Victory Over Coastal Carolina
LSU Tigers’ starting pitcher Kade Anderson delivered a masterful performance in Saturday’s 1-0 victory over the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, bringing the Bayou Bengals within one win of capturing the 2025 Men’s College World Series title.
His dominant outing should also cement his status as a top prospect in next month’s MLB Draft.
Facing a Coastal Carolina team riding a 26-game winning streak, Anderson was sensational, throwing a complete game while allowing just three hits and five walks, and racking up 10 strikeouts over 130 pitches.
On his 130th pitch, Kade Anderson finished a three-hit shutout in LSU’s 1-0 win over Coastal Carolina in Game 1 of the Men’s College World Series. Anderson is a left-hander with 180 strikeouts in 119 innings. He will go high in the draft. Game 2 tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/doiN74EMqO
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 22, 2025
According to ESPN’s SportsCenter, Anderson’s dominant outing marked just the third complete game shutout in the Men’s College World Series Finals since the event adopted a best-of-three format in 2003. He now joins Oregon State’s Kevin Abel and Arizona’s JC Cloney—both of whom also blanked Coastal Carolina, then managed by current LSU head coach Jay Johnson.
MLB.com currently ranks Anderson as the top college prospect and the No. 3 overall player in the 2025 draft class, trailing only Stillwater High School infielder Ethan Holliday and Corona High School right-hander Seth Hernandez.
Despite not having his sharpest stuff early on, Anderson’s showing impressed ESPN baseball analyst Kyle Peterson.
“I didn’t think he had his best stuff early,” Peterson said, pointing to Anderson’s struggles with fastball command. “But when he had to make big pitches, that’s when Anderson got better.”
Anderson’s off-speed pitches, particularly his changeup, proved devastating. In the first inning, he worked out of a jam by getting Coastal Carolina outfielder Blagen Pado to chase a changeup out of the zone, ending the threat.
Kade Anderson, Nasty 82mph Changeup. 👌 pic.twitter.com/zjnTPUZT4g
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 21, 2025
Kade Anderson's 3ks in the 4th. pic.twitter.com/eAvFnX6GSB
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 22, 2025
In the top of the fourth inning, after giving up a leadoff double to Blagen Pado, Anderson responded by striking out the next three batters—all with off-speed pitches.
The Washington Nationals currently hold the No. 1 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, which begins on July 13. In MLB.com’s latest mock draft, the Nationals are projected to take Ethan Holliday, while ESPN predicts they’ll go with Anderson.
Washington’s final decision remains uncertain, but Anderson’s dominant performance may have helped tip the scales in his favor. Still, even if he isn’t the first overall pick, one more LSU win would earn him the ultimate consolation: a national championship.
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