OMAHA, Neb. — LSU coach Jay Johnson grinned when he was asked about his starting pitchers, sophomore left-hander Kade Anderson and junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson at the 2025 Men’s College World Series’ media day.
The small smirk quickly evolved into a full face smile, perking up his eyes and ears, as he began to reminisce about the two starters, and for good reason.
Anderson and Eyanson have become the best starting duo in college baseball this season, sitting at second and third nationally in strikeouts with over 300 combined — and have become household names in the SEC.
They now have the opportunity to lead the Tigers to their eighth national championship.
“It has made me very happy to have two pitchers of that caliber,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of reasons our team is here playing as one of the last eight and in the College World Series, and it starts with Kade and Anthony and their performance.”
But that level of trust was harvested over time; it didn’t happen overnight. The Tigers entered the 2025 campaign with questions surrounding their pitching staff and the duo.
Although Anderson had a formidable freshman season with nine starts, he was LSU’s top returning starter and his role would increase. Eyanson was making the jump from the West Coast at UC San Diego, recording nine starts in 2024, into the Deep South and the most competitive conference in college baseball.
The tandem answered those questions with authority, becoming the two pitchers that their teammates, coaching staff and LSU faithful can hang their hats on.
“They both give us the greatest chance to win, and I am so confident and so comfortable with both of them,” Johnson said. “I’m proud of both of them, and they’re going to make a major league baseball team very happy here very soon.”
STRIVING TOWARDS GREATNESS TOGETHER
LSU's Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson hug after Ƶ regionals win. Photo credit: Mitchell Scaglione
It’s almost disrespectful to call Anderson and Eyanson a one-two punch because of how good they’ve been — 1a and 1b would be more fitting. A coin flip could determine who takes the mound, and neither the coaching staff nor the team’s confidence would waver.
Owning a 3.58 ERA, Anderson has the second-most strikeouts in the country (163), the fourth-best strikeouts-per-nine-innings (14.24) and ranks top 15 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.82). He was named to the First-Team All-SEC, the Golden Spikes Award semifinalist list and a First-Team All-American by Perfect Game.
His 163 punchouts are the third-most in single season program history.
K’d Anderson | ESPNU
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball)
“We’re always talking about our success and failures and learning from them,” Anderson said. “I’ve learned a lot from Anthony and coach (Nate) Yeskie has helped both of us out and continuing to learn from each other.”
Eyanson isn’t far behind, sitting at No. 3 in strikeouts nationally (142) and ninth in strikeouts-per-nine-innings (12.95). He holds a 2.74 ERA and is a semifinalist for the National Pitcher of the Year Award.
The two arms have 15 starts combined with 10 or more punchouts and both have four starts where they’ve pitched seven or more innings, including two complete games.
TIGERS WIN! TIGERS WIN!
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball)
Johnson doesn’t see many differences between the two pitchers. The only one he could name off the top of his head was the different arms they throw with. His answer reflects the trust he’s developed with each of them, knowing that their pitch ability and support for one another is enough to overpower any power.
It’s like having two big jokers in a card deck at his disposal.
“It’s given us a lot of flexibility, particularly in the postseason, from the SEC tournament to the regionals of what we can do,” Johnson said. “If they’re off a little bit, they have something that they can go to, to remain competitive and get zeros on the board.”
The two have kept hitters on their toes all season and caused tons of whiffs. Anderson’s four-pitch mix features a mid-to-high 90s fastball coupled with a changeup, curveball and slider. Like the left-hander, Eyanson’s arsenal includes a fastball, changeup and curve, but is rounded out with a splitter.
(Readers may have to scroll to read the entire table)
| Pitcher | Win-loss | ERA | Starts | Complete games | Saves | Innings pitched | Strikeouts | Batters faced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kade Anderson | 10-1 | 3.58 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 103.0 | 163 | 421 |
| Anthony Eyanson | 11-2 | 2.74 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 98.2 | 142 | 406 |
The tandem have pitched only once in the same game all season, downing Texas A&M in the SEC tournament. They allowed just six hits in the 4-3 victory, striking out 16 combined.
Eyanson joked with local media ahead of the Ƶ tournament that him and Anderson try to one-up each other’s outings, a friendly competition that brings the best out of both of them.
“I love pitching after (Anderson),” Eyanson said before regionals to local media. “He's a great dude, goes about his business the right way…and he’ll pitch for a long time, so it’s fun to be apart of that.”
STARTING PITCHER UNIVERSITY
LSU's Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson embrace after a combined outing. Photo credit: LSU Baseball social media
The saying "pitching wins championships" is a broken record in Omaha, an idiom that proves its worth every year in mid-June. The last five national title winners have given up just 2.6 runs on average in the championship series final game.
LSU has embraced that sentiment with Anderson and Eyanson, but the duo isn’t the first to grace the greatest show on dirt donning the purple and gold.
Paul Skenes and Ty Floyd in 2023. Anthony Ranaudo and Louis Coleman in 2009. Patrick Coogan and Doug Thompson in 1997, backed by one of the greatest power lineups in college baseball history.
The Tigers have had their fair share of 300-plus punchout pairs that helped take LSU to the mountaintop.
“There’s no better place for a pitcher in the entire country to come right now and develop to be a major leaguer than LSU,” Johnson said. “If you look over the last three years in terms of draft picks, statistics, national championships…you can’t argue that.”
Anderson and Eyanson are six to seven wins away from joining the revered company, and it all starts with them. The team moves when they move and gains momentum whenever both pitchers bang on their chests emphatically following a strikeout.
The Tigers begin their MCWS run against Arkansas, a meeting between the top two national seeds remaining, but also an opponent that they beat in a regular season series 2-1. Eyanson shined against the Razorbacks, allowing zero runs in six innings.
But this matchup — this moment — holds a lot more weight.
It’s an opportunity to cement themselves in college baseball and program history, and for Anderson specifically, make up for last year’s super regionals loss to North Carolina.
“We don’t like that bitter taste…LSU plays here often and there’s no reason for us not to be here,” Anderson said. “We still have that feeling left in us, and we’ll take advantage of that feeling as well.”
