During the summer before his senior year at Joliet High School in Illinois, Jimmy Anderson sent an email to about 30 schools, from mid-majors to junior colleges, hoping to receive more interest from the next level.
He had a few Division II and junior college offers at the time, but of the schools he emailed that day, only Heartland Community College in Normal, Illinois, responded.
Anderson committed to Heartland after that and had a standout season with the Hawks in 2025. The unheralded shortstop prospect who received little interest from college teams soon became an MLB draft pick.
The Baltimore Orioles selected Anderson in the 19th round of the 2025 draft. Although he didn't sign, his recruiting process was off and running in a way that it hadn't been the year before.
“In high school, I definitely had the tool set to be good, I just wasn’t physically strong enough yet," Anderson told Bat Cats Central. "I was overlooked in that sense. When I went to a junior college, I’m playing every day, in the weight room, doing all that stuff a lot more than when I was in high school. I was able to put on some weight, put on some muscle and enhance my game a little bit. I think that’s where everything kind of took off from there.”
Rather than jump to a four-year college right away, Anderson took his time with a decision. He stayed at Heartland for his sophomore season and received interest from programs in the Big 10, SEC and ACC. Anderson took visits last fall to Oklahoma, Kansas and Kentucky, and committed to the Wildcats while driving home from his first visit to Lexington.
"We stopped at a rest stop or gas station and I called (Nick) Mingione and told him I was going to commit there," Anderson said. "It was fairly quick. It was one of those situations that I had at Heartland where you just kind of feel in your heart that that’s the place you want to be.”
Join the hundreds of paying subscribers who support Bat Cats Central. We provide the most comprehensive, year-round coverage of Kentucky baseball on the Internet.
