The strikeout has been Kade Anderson’s best friend this season -- and now he stands alone at the top of Division I.
The LSU left-hander -- the No. 3 Draft prospect -- continued his dominant campaign Saturday night as the club holds its NCAA Regional. The St. Paul’s High School (Covington, La.) product struck out the side in the first inning and never looked back in his seven-inning gem.
The 20-year-old fanned 11 batters while allowing just four hits and two walks over 106 pitches, helping the Tigers cruise past Dallas Baptist, 12-0, and advance to Championship Sunday at the Baton Rouge Regional.
With the performance, Anderson passed Tennessee’s Liam Doyle -- the No. 9 Draft prospect -- for the national strikeout lead with 156 punchouts in 96 innings. He improved to 9-1 on the year with a 3.28 ERA and a 156:26 K:BB ratio.
“As a kid, you dream of these moments,” Anderson said earlier this week -- a fitting quote for the southpaw who grew up just over an hour away in Madisonville, La.
A year ago, Anderson was a mid-week starter recovering from Tommy John surgery. Now he’s one of the most coveted arms in this year’s Draft class. He features a four-pitch mix with a plus fastball and changeup, a high-spin slider and the pitchability to match. In MLB Pipeline's latest Draft rankings update, he vaulted to the top spot among all collegiate hurlers, passing Florida State's Jamie Arnold, who had held pole position since the preseason.
“He has had the higher miss rate … and evaluators believe he has a better delivery,” MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo wrote of Anderson this week. “The combination of those two things … give some a feeling that Anderson has better long-term starter projection.”
Anderson dazzled just over a week ago, piling up an SEC Tournament school-record 12 strikeouts over six innings against Texas A&M. Saturday’s follow-up marked his 10th double-digit strikeout game of the season -- six of those outings coming in his last seven starts.
Should Anderson hear his name early in July’s Draft, he’ll be part of a growing legacy of pitchers at LSU. The Tigers tied the SEC record in 2024 with eight pitchers selected, a mark shared with Mississippi State (2024) and Vanderbilt (2011).
Cole Weintraub is a contributor for MLB.com.