Gophers baseball finishing another struggling season, but John Anderson will return as coach

The Gophers open their final regular-season baseball series Thursday at Siebert Field, with an outside chance of advancing to the conference tournament.

Should the Gophers (8-13 Big Ten) not climb past Purdue (10-11) and Michigan State (10-11) into eighth place in the conference standings — the final Big Ten tournament spot — their season would be over after Saturday's finale against Rutgers.

What won't be over is the career of John Anderson, who'll be back for his 43rd season as Gophers coach in 2024, aiming to rebound from the current 16-33 campaign and a 46-110 slump over the past four years.

"Some of that's driven by the fact that I really love this group of kids, and I really like the kids coming in," Anderson, who turned 68 on Tuesday, said of his decision to return. "I really want to try to help them get the program back to the level we're used to here. And I think this group can do it."

Anderson and athletic director Mark Coyle have agreed that he will return next winter. The two-year contract that Anderson signed in 2021 included a renewal clause that will be exercised, an athletic department spokesman said.

A fixture in Dinkytown since his days as a walk-on pitcher from Hibbing, Minn. in 1975, Anderson has built a résumé that any coach would envy. He has won 1,363 games as Gophers coach, the most in Big Ten history and tops among active NCAA Division I coaches. His team's accomplishments include 11 conference regular-season titles, 10 league tournament championships and 19 NCAA tournament appearances.

"Going forward here, there's reason to be optimistic as long as we can stay healthy," Anderson said.

A lack of good health derailed the Gophers from the start in 2023. Injuries, especially to the pitching staff, forced the team to rely on inexperienced players, and the growing pains included losses in the first 11 games of the season.

"When people asked me how good we're going to be, I'd say it's gonna depend on how healthy we are," Anderson said. "If you lose the wrong guys at the wrong time …"

Slowly, the Gophers have shown improvement. They're 3-3 in their past two series, taking two of three against Michigan and winning the opener at No. 19 Maryland.

Valleys follow a big peak

Five years ago, Anderson had the Gophers riding high. Minnesota went 44-15, won the Big Ten regular-season title with an 18-4 record and went 4-0 to win the conference tournament crown. The Gophers were awarded an NCAA regional at Siebert Field, and they beat Canisius and UCLA twice to advance to a Super Regional for the first time since the format's inception in 1999. The season ended with two losses at eventual national champion Oregon State.

Since a third-place Big Ten finish in 2019, the Gophers have struggled. They went 8-10 in 2020 before the season was scuttled because of COVID-19. In 2021, they were 6-31 against an all-Big Ten schedule, losing their final 13 games. Last year featured a 16-36 mark and a second consecutive last-place conference finish.

This year, the Gophers have been without pitchers Joe Hauser, Will Semb, T.J. Egan and Sam Kennedy because of various injuries. Sam Malec and Caden Capomaccio recently returned after absences of 52 and 45 days, respectively. The statistics show the issue. The Gophers have given up 10 or more runs 10 times. They're allowing 6.9 runs per game, and their team ERA is 5.89 — a figure that jumps to 6.69 in Big Ten play.

"We've had a rash of pitching injuries," Anderson said. "When you have close to four scholarships not on the field, and most of that in the pitching area, it's challenging to overcome."

Looking to the future

There have been some positives mixed into the difficult season. The Gophers are 5-2 in series openers in Big Ten play, outscoring opponents 41-31 and getting solid starts from Tucker Novotny. The lefthander has three wins, including a 4-0 shutout of Michigan.

"You're pitching against their best guy on Fridays, and he's really giving us a chance to win," Anderson said. "He's developing, he's growing."

In addition, sophomore reliever Connor Wietgrefe earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors for his four shutout innings and seven strikeouts for a save in a 10-7 win at No. 19 Maryland last Friday. Freshman Weber Neels is tied for the team lead with seven homers and has filled in at catcher with the season-ending injury to Sam Hunt.

Anderson lauded his players for their attitude and perseverance through tough times, calling the group a fun team to coach and one that doesn't point fingers.

"In spite of our record, I surely don't feel beat up from the season," he said. "We've got a tremendous group of guys to work with here, and I look forward to watching these guys continue to get better."