File photo by Travis Rosenau Sleepy Eye St. Marys’ Mark Anderson pitches during a nonconference baseball game in Leavenworth on May 13, 2023. Anderson is currently in his senior year at St. Mary’s and will play baseball for Bethel University in St. Paul next spring.

SLEEPY EYE — While he’s in his final year of high school baseball, Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s pitcher Mark Anderson’s baseball career is far from over.

The 6-5 senior righty has committed to play college baseball for the Bethel University Royals in St. Paul next spring. Anderson will be joining a Royals team coached by New Ulm High School grad and former Major Leaguer Brian Raabe.

Anderson, a three-sport athlete that also plays football and basketball, pitched 34 innings with 59 strikeouts and a 2.06 ERA last spring for the Knights. In addition to his mound dominance, Anderson hit cleanup and turned in a .333 batting average with 22 RBIs.

Anderson was also able to celebrate a DII Legion Baseball state title for Sleepy Eye in the summer of 2023.

Anderson said he was originally contacted by Bethel assistant pitching coach Ryan Meyers after attending a Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association Junior Showcase last summer in Minnetonka.

“Me and Brandon [Schmitz] and another kid from Sleepy Eye got invited to a showcase that was up at Tonka and we all went to it,” Anderson said. “After the showcase was done, I got contacted by Bethel and I just kind of started talking to them. Actually later that day when I was talking to them, I had a legion game and my coach is Zach Haala, who happened to go to Bethel and play for them. I was talking to him about it and he was really encouraging me to check it out and everything.

“So later, when it got more towards school time, I went and did a visit, I really liked what they had up there. We had other options as well, but I was set on going there, honestly.”

Among other options for Anderson was Bethany Lutheran College and Gustavus Adolphus College. Anderson narrowed it down to Bethel and BLC, but he decided he’d like to explore St. Paul and be with the Royals.

“I was definitely being approached a lot by Bethany in Mankato,” Anderson said. “They had talked to me a bunch. They got Brandon [Schmitz] obviously, my teammate, they wanted both of us. And I was really considering them a lot. It was mainly between Bethany and Bethel.”

Anderson said he’s not sure exactly what his role will be at first, but he’ll be working towards the starting rotation.

“They want me to pick up a few miles per hour, but I don’t know,” Anderson said. “They want me to push to be in the starting rotation … first year, but I’ll just see what happens.”

While Bethel coaches will be working with Anderson to develop his velocity, Anderson called his fastball is his best pitch at the moment as it currently tops out at 85 mph off the mound.

Anderson said he’s hoping Bethel can help him with his off-speed pitches.

“I think they can definitely help me with my off-speed,” Anderson said. “It’s OK, but it can definitely get better. I think they can definitely help me improve on that. They’ve had a really good pitching staff in years past, so I know that they can develop good pitchers. They’ve got a bunch of pitching coaches, which was also a positive from what I saw. So I’m helping they can give me some off-speed pitches to go along with my fastball.”

Bethel went 32-12 last season, which included a perfect 14-0 record at home. The Royals ended up finishing the season with a loss to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the NCAA DIII Regional Championships.

Anderson said he also liked that Bethel was a little further away from home and described the school as being in its own niche of the Twin Cities.

“It’s kind of in its own secluded little area,” Anderson said of Bethel. “It’s kind of in the cities, but just in its own niche of the cities, and I kind of like that. You can still go out into the cities, sure, but you can also just stay in that little niche area and have your own little home away from home.”

Anderson will major in accounting and finance at Bethel.