Gophers baseball to retire John Anderson's No. 14 jersey on Saturday
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota baseball team will host Michigan State for its final home series of the 2024 regular season, which also means the final weekend for coach John Anderson at Siebert Field.
Anderson announced last December that he was retiring at the end of the season after 43 years as the Gophers’ baseball coach. On Saturday, the team will retire his No. 14 jersey and unveil a mural that will be displayed on the left field wall at Siebert Field. Anderson is the longest-tenured coach in the history of Gophers’ athletics.
The event will be a pregame ceremony, and Siebert Field will open at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Fans attending the game are encouraged to be in their seats by 1:15 p.m.
Anderson is the winningest baseball coach in the history of the Big Ten. During his tenure, the Gophers have won 11 Big Ten titles, 10 Big Ten Tournament championships and made 18 NCAA tournament appearances. The first postseason trip was during Anderson's inaugural season in 1982 and the most recent was in 2018.
Anderson has been named the Big Ten Coach of the Year eight times, most recently in 2018 after leading Minnesota to a Big Ten Championship and the Super Regionals for the first time in program history.
Under his watch, 115 Gophers have been drafted to the MLB. They’ve also had a player selected 36 straight years. He's had a winning record in 36 of his 42 seasons. This year’s team is currently 21-21 overall, and 7-11 in Big Ten play.
Anderson has been inducted into four different halls of fame: the American Baseball Coaches Association, the University of Minnesota "M" Club, the Minnesota High School Baseball Coaches Association and Hibbing Community College.
Anderson’s mural will be the seventh added to the wall in left field. He will join former Gophers Paul Giel (No. 34), Dick Siebert (No. 24), Dave Winfield (No. 31), Paul Molitor (No. 11), David Chelesnik (No. 26) and Herb "Ike" Isakson (No. 5) in having his number retired.
