— Heading into his senior season at Alexandria, Sam Anderson didn’t have a college plan in place. He thought about going to study at Ohio State University or North Dakota State, then joining the NDSU baseball team as a walk-on.
As graduation drew closer and eventually passed, his patience paid off.
A couple of players leaving via the transfer portal led to an opening at NDSU. When NDSU extended an offer, Anderson jumped at the chance, committing on July 9.
“After a few kids hit the portal, NDSU expressed some interest in me,” Anderson said. “We’ve had guys like Brock Anderson and Jake Drew go up there recently, and [assistant] coach Chris [Koep] has a contact up there. They were looking for a lefty, so it all just worked itself out.”
Anderson now feels a sense of relief with his college choice having been made.
“During the school season and part of the summer, I was stressed about where I was going to land,” Anderson said. “I had that in the back of my mind. But now I can just go out there and play baseball.”
Alexandria’s solid pitching and defense were consistent in the spring and in the legion ball this summer, and Anderson is a leader of that effort.
Anderson had a 4-1 record in six appearances on the mound with a 2.07 earned run average and 53 strikeouts in the spring and was named a Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association All-Star. He allowed only 16 walks and 17 hits in 27 and 1/3 innings pitched in Alexandria’s 13-9 season. In five out of his six appearances, he struck out seven batters or more. He struck out 12 batters in a 1-0 win over the St. Cloud Crush on April 22, then struck out 13 batters three weeks later in a 3-1 win over Hutchinson.
Alexandria’s Sam Anderson hurls the pitch to the plate during a Section 8-3A Tournament game against Fergus Falls on May 29, 2025, at Knute Nelson Memorial Park.
Sam Stuve / Alexandria Echo Press
He was named to the 2025 All-Section 8-3A team and was named to the All-Central Lakes Conference team for the second year in a row.
According to PrepReportBaseball.com, Anderson has an 80-to-84 mile per hour fastball, a 72-to-75 mile per hour slider, and a 71-73 mile per hour curveball and changeup.
“I believe I’m a fresh arm coming into the program, and they only have one other left-handed pitcher, so hopefully in my freshman year, I can get a few innings in,” Anderson said. “I have a lot of belief in my fastball. A lot of high school hitters struggle to catch up to my fastball. It’s just nice being able to blow a pitch by a person three times in the zone, getting a quick out if you need it.”
This summer, Anderson has a 4-0 record on the mound playing for the Alexandria Zimny Insurance Post 87 Legion team (26-8). In nine appearances this summer, he’s had a 1.46 ERA and 73 strikeouts while allowing only 20 hits and 30 walks in 27 and two-thirds innings.
Anderson and the rest of Alexandria Post 87 play in the Minnesota American Legion State Tournament starting on Thursday in St. Michael. Alexandria Post 87 begins the state tournament with a game against White Bear Lake at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday at Lower Rec Field in St. Michael.
“It’s going to be nice to experience that after missing the state tournament in the high school season,” Anderson said. “I’ve never experienced a baseball state tournament before.”
Alexandria’s Sam Anderson winds up to pitch in a game at Detroit Lakes on May 2, 2025.
Cooper Kanthak / Detroit Lakes Tribune
Sam Stuve covers a variety of sports in the Douglas County area. Sam is a December 2021 graduate from Iowa State University. Sam joined the Echo Press in January 2022 and became the Sports and Outdoors Editor in February 2023.