Nebraska commit Max Anderson dreams of MLB and return to Omaha for CWS
OMAHA, Neb. (BVM) — Max Anderson has enjoyed attending the College World Series every year as a kid growing up in Omaha, Nebraska.
The next time he makes an appearance at the event, it could be as a player.
“That’s probably the biggest dream of mine,” Anderson said. “My goal has always been to get to the College World Series, play in front of my hometown on that stage. … But the long-term goal for me is I want to play in MLB.”
Anderson has the potential to achieve both goals. The Millard West star shortstop was considered by MaxPreps to be the best high school baseball player in Nebraska prior to the 2020 season, which was canceled due to COVID-19. He’ll next take his talents down the road to Lincoln where he’ll play for the University of Nebraska and have the chance to help the Cornhuskers make NCAA tournament runs with his high level of skills that have separated him from most of his peers at the high school level — particularly at the plate.
“Just to see the ball come off his bat, it’s fun to watch,” Millard West coach Steven Frey said. “When he hits the ball, it’s always squared up, so you’re expecting a home run almost every time he gets up there and if not, he hits it on a line somewhere. You don’t see that from a lot of high school guys around here in Nebraska.”
As a junior in 2019, Anderson was named honorary captain of the All-Nebraska team and selected as the All-Super State Player of the Year by the Lincoln Journal Star after batting .353 and leading the state with 10 home runs. He also helped Millard West capture its first Class A title, which the Wildcats were hoping to defend this past spring before those hopes faded with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was kind of heartbreaking,” Anderson said. “We had a really good team coming back and we thought we could make another run at it, and high school baseball is kind of something special that you know you’re not going to be able to get back.”
But Anderson will get back on the field and have a chance to display a special skill set that’s only improved since his arrival at Millard West.
“Coming into high school I was really just a hitter, and I’ve got to credit my coaches,” Anderson said. “I’m coming out a really good fielder now I feel like at least. I’ve improved my range. … But I think my ticket is going to be my bat. I’ve always had a lot of power and I feel like it’s starting to stay with me and I’m starting to pick up a lot more, too.”
Anderson has a solid all-around game and does everything well, according to Frey. The 6-foot, 180-pound infielder has a strong arm to go along with his ability to make both the routine and spectacular defensive plays. He’s also a good baserunner and an overall knowledgeable, heads-up player on the field.
“He’s kind of the whole package,” said Frey, who also agrees that Anderson’s bat is what makes him special and will give him the chance to truly excel at the next level. Frey realized the potential when Anderson first started playing for the Wildcats.
“You could just kind of tell right away,” Frey said. “When he was a sophomore, he was hitting the ball as far as anyone; it was coming off the bat as well as any of our seniors and really almost anybody in the state. … You can just tell with those types of players. The ball just comes off their bat differently. It pops. He had that right away as a sophomore. His hands are so quick that you can just tell this kid’s different and the JV level is not challenging enough for Max.”
The Division I college level is the next challenge for Anderson, who hopes to make a big impact right away for Nebraska after both he and the Huskers lost their spring seasons.
“It’s tough to lose a lot of the game repetitions because you can’t really recreate them in practice,” Anderson said, “so that’s going to be tough taking almost a year off of that. … It doesn’t hurt just the teams, it hurts our games too because they might be lagging a little bit going into college.”
Anderson was originally committed to Texas A&M, but on June 22 he announced the change of plans — he would be staying in his home state for college.
“The five-round (MLB) draft kind of made a few people stay at Texas A&M that maybe wouldn’t have stayed in a normal year,” Anderson said. “So me and (head) coach (Rob) Childress talked and made the best decision for both of us. He gave Nebraska a call and he said they were very interested and that’s kind of how it started. They were really intrigued and excited so about 24 hours later I decided to commit.”
Nebraska has reached the NCAA tournament four of the past six years, but hasn’t reached the College Word Series since 2005. Anderson hopes their next run to Omaha comes within the next few years, which would give him a chance to return home and fulfill one of his biggest goals.
But that’s not the only dream Anderson has the chance to make come true.
“When you look at all his tools, he just does everything well,” Frey said. “One of the things I was so impressed with when he came to Millard West was how quickly he adapted and just knew what he needed to do in order to be successful at the next level. In my opinion, I think he can play well beyond.”
