John Anderson, Minnesota Golden Gophers

John Anderson has served as head coach of the tradition-rich University of Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball program since the 1982 season. A former pitcher for the Gophers before an injury ended his playing career, Anderson followed in the footsteps of his mentor, Hall of Fame coach Dick Siebert, and today holds the record for overall wins and conference wins while coaching at a Big Ten university. He has guided the Gophers to 10 regular-season Big 10 titles and a conference-best nine Big 10 Tournament championships.

Under his direction Minnesota has appeared in the NCAA tournament 18 times, beginning with his rookie season of 1982, with the most recent being back-to-back appearances in 2009 and 2010. In 2009, the Gophers lost to eventual national champion LSU in the title game of the Baton Rouge Regional. At the 2010 Fullerton Regional, they won their first two games against Cal State-Fullerton before being eliminated. Twice in Anderson’s tenure, the Gophers have put together four-year streaks of NCAA Regional appearances: 1991-94 and 1998-2001.

Anderson has been inducted into four different halls of fame: the American Baseball Coaches Association (2008), the University of Minnesota “M” Club (2002), the Minnesota High School Baseball Coaches Association (2013) and Hibbing Community College. With his induction into the ABCA Hall of Fame on Jan. 4, 2008, Anderson joined his mentor, Siebert, and another former Gophers coach, Frank McCormick. Anderson was the eighth coach from the state of Minnesota and the 15th Big Ten coach to receive that honor. He was inducted into the MHSBCA Hall of Fame despite never having coached at the high school level. Anderson’s contributions to high school baseball in the state include organizing camps/clinics and fall leagues and fundraising for Siebert Field, which frequently hosts high school level games.

Seven times Anderson has been recognized as Big Ten Coach of the Year. He earned the honor as a rookie head coach in 1982, and again in 2000. Anderson became the first coach to win the award three times in a row (2002, ’03, ’04) a few years later. He was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the sixth time in 2010, a year in which Minnesota won both the regular season and tournament conference titles. Anderson was also named ABCA Mideast Region Coach of the Year in 2004 and 2010.