Back-to-Back: Glenwood’s Kayden Anderson wraps up stellar senior season with second Athlete of the Year award

Dave Clark took over the Glenwood baseball program this past season.

But it wasn’t his first time coaching the Rams’ Kayden Anderson. He first coached Anderson and many of his teammates as 10-year-olds.

Even back then Clark could see the burgeoning athlete in Anderson. Sure, he was bigger, stronger and more athletic than some of his teammates. That wasn’t what impressed the coach the most, however.

It was Anderson’s baseball intellect, his understanding of the game, that was unusually high for a little leaguer.

“He knew the game really well,” Clark recalled. “He was so much smarter. He understood where to go, he understood cutoffs and situations at 10 years old. He knew all the little things. He’d drop fly balls to get double plays. He knew all the little things some guys never pick up.”

Eight years and hundreds of games later, that baseball IQ and talent on the field landed Anderson first team all-state honors and a scholarship to Nebraska. His dominance on the diamond, to go along with standout seasons in football, basketball and tennis, landed him The Opinion-Tribune’s 2023-2024 Athlete of the Year award for the second straight year.

Anderson has taken the accolades and his record-breaking season in stride.

“I felt like I played as hard I could this year,” he said. “I felt like I was a good leader, and things worked out pretty well.”

“Worked out pretty well” feels like an understatement.

Anderson never focuses on statistics – knowing your stats doesn’t make you better, he feels – but they do tell a tale of one of the most dominant seasons at the plate in Hawkeye 10 Conference history. Anderson won the league’s “triple crown,” topping all players in home runs, runs driven in and batting average. He hit a blistering .543 with 11 home runs and 44 RBIs this season.

He was surprised when told he won the mythical honor.

“That’s awesome,” he said. “I know how hard that is to achieve in baseball. The whole season I just tried to go out and have fun with my buddies. It was my last season with those guys. I’ve played with them for so long. I just wanted to enjoy this season, and I did. It didn’t end the way we wanted it to but record wise, I couldn’t have asked for much better.”

Glenwood went 18-7 on the diamond this season, a six-game improvement from last year but the Rams’ season came to a disappointing end in the postseason opener at Council Bluffs Lewis Central.

Anderson closed his Ram career as the school’s all-time leader in home runs (25) and career batting average (.501).

He did it with a simple approach at the plate: (a) find the pitch you want and (b) hit it.

“Baseball is such a tough sport hitting wise,” he said. “I would love to say I go up there thinking I’m going to get a hit every time, which is obviously what you want to happen. But when I go up to the plate, look for one pitch I can hit as hard as I can. I work off that. Each pitch in the count is a new at bat basically.

“Whenever I get to a certain count, I’m looking for one pitch, one spot and trying to hammer it. That’s stayed with me all year and ended up working out well for me. I got a lot of good pitches to hit.”

In addition to shortstop, Anderson entered his senior season as the team’s No. 1 starter on the mound. But arm soreness limited him to three starts and 33 total innings on the mound this season, a big drop off from his junior season when he started six games and went 3-2.

Anderson said the decision to limit his throwing was twofold: some early season arm soreness and a deeper pitching staff rotation this season.

“I was OK with it,” he said of pitching less this season. “We talked at the start of the year because I was kind of No. 1 on the mound the last couple years and playing shortstop every day and pitching took a toll on my arm. I pitched when we needed to and wish I could have pitched more if they needed me but physically, I was okay with not pitching as much and saving my arm.”

t’s no wonder why Anderson’s arm might have been a little weary heading into the baseball season. He’s had a typically busy year.

Last fall the quarterback led the Rams’ football team to the state quarterfinals before leading the Glenwood basketball team in scoring in the winter and then making his second straight trip to the Iowa State Tennis Tournament.

His work ethic doesn’t allow him to take many days off. His competitive drive keeps his mind focused on whatever sports he happens to be participating in at the time. His leadership, a constant.

“It’s definitely all somewhat the same leadership. I’m a competitive person and I’m really hard on myself when it comes to competition so I’m pretty aggressive. I want everybody to play their hardest and have a strong mentality.

Tennis is little bit different but in football and basketball and baseball I’d like to think I was the same leader.”

Baseball remains his favorite sport, but tennis is No. 2. Something he admits he couldn’t have imagined when he took up the sport as a novice sophomore. He now calls that decision “one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

“Tennis helped me athletically and in a lot of areas but just the team I got to play with and being around our coach was an amazing experience,” he said. “I ended up falling in love with it. I’m a super competitive person so I was determined to get as good as I possible could at it. Getting to state twice was cool but playing with different guys in a sport where we just went out and had fun and saw where it took us was an experience I’ll never forget.”

Coaches often cite the similarities in shoulder motion between the tennis serve and throwing a baseball. That connection wasn’t lost on Anderson.

“It really helped my serve. After a few days of practice, I already had a decent serve down with some good velocity. Being able to step into it with that same motion helped me a lot.”

The backhand and forehand return proved a slightly steeper learning curve. Hitting a curveball was easier by comparison, he said.

“Keeping it in bounds and with the spin on it is a lot harder that it looks. It was insanely challenging. And frustrating at times.”

But figure it out he did. He and doubles partner Brody Taylor won a district title and reached the state tournament.

As much joy as Anderson took from his final season on the tennis court and the diamond, it’s the past football season he calls “the most fun.”

Anderson quarterbacked the Rams to an 8-3 record and a state quarterfinal appearance, throwing for 1,903 yards and 14 touchdowns. He closed his gridiron career with 40 TD tosses and the school marks for career passing yards and completions.

But it was the team’s success – and camaraderie – that stand out.

“We had such a strong bond it made everything fun this season,” Anderson said of the senior class, most he’s played multiple sports with since youth leagues.

Anderson is quick to recall his favorite moments of his senior football season: the back-to-back wins over Norwalk in a 53-35 shootout to close the regular season and then a dominating 21-0 shutout of the same Warriors the following week in the state first round.

The Rams quarterback completed 22-of-37 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns in the two victories.

“Coming off beating them the week before and then beating them in the playoffs was huge. I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of team that was amped up as that. It was awesome. The locker room had so much energy. We were all jumping around and listening to music.”

Anderson and the Rams’ dreams of a trip to the UNIDome came to an end the following week in a 31-21 loss to Bondurant-Farrar.

“We went out there and destroyed expectations people had for us,” he said. “No one expected we’d go as far as we did. I still think we had a really good chance to get to the Dome if we had played our best game. It wasn’t my best year individually but team wise, it was amazing. We played and beat really good teams.”

Anderson had looks in football. College football coaches were intrigued by his arm strength and maturity but baseball, he said, has always been his path.He committed to Nebraska and head coach Will Bolt more than a year ago and enrolled this summer. He has been participating in summer workouts since July with an eye toward getting on the field this spring for the Huskers, as they prepare to defend their first Big 10 Tournament Championship.

Anderson rarely missed a televised Husker baseball game this past season.

“It was great watching them,” he said. “Me and my dad watched as much as we could. Just their energy and the culture that they have was so fun to watch. And then we got to see them at the Big 10 Championship (game) in Omaha. Watching that was something else. It just made me more excited to get on campus.”

Fall practice for Division 1 baseball begins at the end of August and the first workout can’t come soon enough.

Anderson is still slated to begin the season at either third base or shortstop. Whether he can get on the field this season remains a question mark.

“There are a lot of guys coming back. They basically return the whole team. But I have no complaints. I’m going to work my butt off and if I get on the field, that’s awesome. If I don’t, I’ll learn from some really experienced, high level baseball players.

“I can’t wait to get started.”