Kade Anderson reacts to College World Series shutout vs. Coastal Carolina: 'Dream come true'

LSU starting left-handed pitcher Kade Anderson‘s NCAA Tournament legacy continues to grow, as the soon-to-be First Round MLB Draft pick threw the first College World Series complete game shutout since 2018 Saturday night in a 1-0 win over Coastal Carolina.

Everything went Anderson’s way, as he allowed just three hits while striking out 10 batters over the nine inning span. 83 of his 130 (!) pitches were strikes. Thanks to his performance, his hometown Tigers are just one win away from their eighth National Championship in program history.

“I put my team in a situation to win,” Anderson said postgame. “A lot of credit to my defense because I didn’t have that many strikeouts. A lot of credit to them and it goes back to trust.”

LSU‘s lone run scored all the way back in the bottom of the first inning, as Derek Curiel drew a walk to open the frame and was driven home by a Steven Milam RBI-single. The run support wasn’t there for Anderson, but it didn’t let it stop him from leading his team to a massive win.

KADE ANDERSON MCWS FINALS SHUTOUT 😱😱@KadeAnderson32 x @LSUbaseball pic.twitter.com/b3oKOppipU

— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) June 22, 2025

“Mixing pitches and trust in my coach,” Anderson responded when asked about what was going well for him. “Just being in the moment and being where your feet are.”

Anderson was among the best in the country this season, as he boasts an 11-1 record with a 3.44 ERA over 110 innings. He also leads the country with 170 strikeouts, as he passed Tennessee‘s Liam Doyle in his last start against Arkansas.

Jay Johnson praises Anderson’s ‘tremendous stuff’

Coach Jay Johnson spoke highly of his prized sophomore earlier in the College World Series.

“He’s got tremendous stuff,” Johnson said. “It’s four pitches for strikes. He’s never boxed into having to throw a certain way, which as a hitting coach makes it tough to plan against him because he can always pivot. Kade’s got a plan for any type of hitter, left, right, power, good bat-to-ball type guys, I thought he just executed. He’s such a tremendous competitor. I mean, he got us a win in a super regional game and got us through the seventh inning and was just, for lack of a better word, irritated at his performance. Those guys are special.”

“They don’t come along very often. When you put that four-pitch mix with that type of competitive fire, feel for what he needed to do, like he said, live in the classroom, he’s right back to it.”

Anderson has been a buzzsaw in the NCAA Tournament, as he’s held opponents to just seven earned runs with 35 strikeouts over 30 innings of work.

“This is just a dream come true,” Anderson said. “Dream come true.”