Personal Information
Hometown: Grant, Nebraska
College: Emporia State, 1983
Coaching Experience
- 1984-87:
Emporia State, AssistantCoach - 1988-89:
Howard College, Assistant Coach - 1990-99:
Texas Tech, Assistant Coach - 2000-03:
Texas, Assistant Coach - 2004-12:
Oklahoma State, Head Coach - 2013-17:
Houston, Assistant Coach - 2018-present:
Tennessee, Assistant Coach
Playing Experience
- 1979-80:
Mid-Plains Junior College - 1981-82:
University of Nebraska at Kearney
POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE
- EMPORIA STATE
- 1984:
NAIA World Series - 1986:
NAIA World Series - 1976:
NAIA World Series (Runner Up)
- TEXAS TECH
- 1995:
- NCAA Regional (Wichita, Kan.)
- 1996:
NCAA Regional (Lubbock, Texas) - 1997:
NCAA Regional (Lubbock, Texas) - 1998:
NCAA Regional (Coral Gables, Fla.) - 1999:
NCAA Regional (Lubbock, Texas)
- TEXAS
- 2000:
College World Series - 2001:
NCAA Regional (Palo Alto, Calif.) - 2002:
College World Series (National Champions) - 2003:
College World Series
- OKLAHOMA STATE
- 2004:
NCAA Regional (Tallahassee, Fla.) - 2006:
NCAA Regional (Fayetteville, Ark.) - 2007:
NCAA Super Regional (Louisville, Ky.) - 2008:
NCAA Regional (Stillwater, Okla.) - 2009:
NCAA Regional (Clemson, S.C.) - 2011:
NCAA Regional (Nashville, Tenn.)
- HOUSTON
- 2014:
NCAA Super Regional (Austin, Texas) - 2015:
NCAA Regional (Houston, Texas) - 2017:
NCAA Regional (Houston, Texas)
- TENNESSEE
- 2019:
NCAA Regional (Chapel Hill, N.C.) - 2021:
College World Series - 2022:
NCAA Super Regional (Knoxville, Tenn.) - 2023:
College World Series
Frank Anderson joined the Tennessee coaching staff in June of 2017 and has been a part of Tony Vitello's staff for sixseasons after spending the previousfive years as an assistant coach at Houston, where he helped lead the Cougars to three NCAA Tournaments, including an NCAA Super Regional in 2014. UH played in four consecutive American Athletic Conference Tournament championship games, taking home the title in 2014 and 2017.
Considered one of the premier pitching coaches in the country, Anderson brings a wealth of experience as both an assistant and a head coach at the NCAA Division I level. Prior to his successful stint as pitching coach at Houston, Anderson served as head coach for Oklahoma State for nine seasons (2004-12), leading the Cowboys to six NCAA Regional appearances as well as a trip to the NCAA Super Regionals in 2007.
Since joining Vitello's staffat Tennessee, Anderson has guided some of the nation's top pitching staffs. The Vols have finished in the top 20 nationally in ERA, WHIP, strikeout-to-walk ratio and walks allowed per nine innings in each of the past fiveseasons. Anderson has overseen some of the nation’s top pitching staffs during his 40-year coaching career.In total, Anderson’s pitching staffs have finished among the top-25 in the country in ERA 16times, including 10top-10 rankings.
Throughout his storied coaching career, Anderson has coached 95pitchers that have been selected in the MLB Draft, including eightfirst rounders (two at Tennessee).
In total, 15 pitchers were draftedduring Anderson’s tenure at Houston. He also had 27 pitchers selectedduring his time at Oklahoma State, 15 pickedwhile he was at Texas and 21 draftedduring his 10 seasons with Texas Tech.
So far, during his sixseasons at Tennessee, Anderson has already had 17pitchers hear their names called in the draft, including a program record six in 2023 after having four selected in the 2022 draft.Chase Dollander became UT's highest-drafted pitcher straight out of college in program history when he was selected by the Colorado Rockies with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, besting Garrett Crochet, who was selected with the 11thoverall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft.
As has become the norm under Anderson, Tennessee boasted one of the country’s top pitching staffs in 2023 and finished the year ranked among the top five nationally in ERA (2nd– 3.63), WHIP (2nd– 1.16), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2nd– 4.03), shutouts (3rd– 9), total strikeouts (3rd– 738), strikeouts per nine innings (3rd– 11.7), hits allowed per nine innings (4th– 7.51) and walks allowed per nine innings (4th– 2.90) while leading the Vols to their second College World Series appearance in three years.
Anderson's pitching staff played a major part in Tennessee's record-setting 2022 season that saw the program reach No. 1 in the polls for the first time in its history and win a school-record 57 games en route to SEC Regular Season and SEC Tournament titles. Anderson was tabbed the 2022 Rawlings Pitching Coach of the Year after leading a staff that finished No. 1 nationally in ERA (2.51), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.24), WHIP (1.00) and walks allowed per nine innings (2.48). The Vols also set single-season program records inERA , WHIP, opponent batting average (.199), strikeouts (695), strikeouts/nine innings (10.5) and walks allowed/nine innings.
The Big Orange had a program-best five pitchers earn All-America honors during the 2022 season, led by the trio of Dollander, Chase Burns and Drew Beam.Dollander racked up the postseason honors following a dominant sophom*ore season, becoming the first UT player to be named SEC Pitcher of the Year and earn consensus first-team All-America honors since Luke Hochevar in 2005. Burns also brought home numerousnational awards after being named the D1Baseball.com National Freshman of the Year, the NCBWA Freshman National Pitcher of the Year and the Collegiate Baseball Co-Freshman National Player of the Year, on top of earning All-America and Freshman All-America recognition. Beam had an equally impressive debut campaign and was named the SEC Freshman of the Year on top of earning All-America and Freshman All-America honors. Relievers Ben Joyceand Redmond Walsh also garnered All-America status from the NCBWA in 2022.
In 2021, Anderson's pitching staff once again ranked among the nation's best as the Vols won the SEC Eastern division title for the first time since 1997 and advanced to their first College World Series since 2005. The Big Orangefinished the season rankedtop 10 in the country in ERA (10th - 3.51), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2nd - 3.63), WHIP (5th - 1.16) and walks allowed per nine innings (3rd - 2.49).
Under Anderson's guidance, three UT pitchers earned All-America honors: Chad Dallas (ABCA & NCBWA), Sean Hunley (Baseball America) and Blade Tidwell (Freshman AA - D1Baseball & Perfect Game).
Dallas had a breakout year as Tennessee's Friday-night starter. The junior right hander finished the seasonwith an impressive 11-2 record while leading the team with 122 strikeouts. His 11 wins were tied for sixth most in the country and also tied for the sixth most in a single season in program history. His 122 punchouts ranked sixth in program history for a single season, as well, and were the most by a Vols' pitcher since James Adkins had 133 in 2007.
Hunley emerged as UT's top bullpen arm as a senior in 2021, leading the team with a program-record 35 appearances while racking up a career-high nine saves and tying a career high with seven victories to earn second team All-America honors from Baseball America. His nine saves were tied for the fifth most in a single season in program history. Hunley also finished third on the team with a career-best 77 strikeouts in 72.1 innings pitched.
Tidwell became the 20thVol to earn Freshman All-America honors in program history andwas a staple in Tennessee's weekend rotation from the start of the season,leading the team with 18 games started. His 3.74 ERA was the lowest among Tennessee's starting pitchers while his 10 wins and 90 strikeouts both ranked second on the team.Tidwell was named to the SEC All-Freshman team, as well, and recorded an impressive 10-3 record in 2021. His 10 victories were tied for the second most by a freshman in program history.
After leading one of the country's top pitching staffs in 2019, Anderson's group of arms was on pace to be one of the nation's best once again in 2020 before the season was cut shortdue to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Through 17 games in 2020, the Volunteers ranked among the top 25 in the nation in a handful of statistical categories, including: WHIP (0.94 - second),ERA (2.00 - fourth), hits allowed/nine innings (6.41 - 16th), shutouts(three - 12th), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.89 - third) and walks allowed/nine innings (2.06 - third).
UT was able to post those impressive numbers despite missing three key pieces to its pitching staff for the majority of the year. Junior left hander Garrett Crochet, the expected ace of the staff, made just one start due to arm soreness. Crochet went on to become the 11th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft in June and became the first player to go from the draft to the big leagueswithout playing in the minors since Mike Leake did so with the Reds in 2010. Crochetmade six appearances for the Chicago White Sox during the 2020 season, including one postseason outing. In those six games, he did not allow a single run and gave up just three hits while racking up 10 strikeouts in 6.2 innings of relief.
Another possible starter and key reliever, Camden Sewell, also only made one appearance in 2020 while senior reliever Will Heflin had yet to make his season debut after recovering from a knee injury sustained in the fall. As a result of the aforementioned injuries, Anderson had a chance to develop and utilize plenty of newcomers and untested arms. The duo of Chad Dallas and Jackson Leath, who both joined the Vols from the junior college ranks, combined to go 7-0 on the year. Leath's four victories were tied for first in the SEC and second in the country at the time of the season being canceled.
With Crochet out, Dallas slid into the role of Tennessee's Friday-night starter and was exceptional. The sophom*ore right hander allowed just onehitover five shutout innings in his UT debut in the season opener against Western Illinois. He followed that up with a career-high eight strikeouts in 5.0innings of work to lead the Vols to a massive win over then No. 1 Texas Tech at the Round Rock Classic. Dallas finished the year with a 3-0 record and 2.53 ERA,
Junior right handers Sean Hunley(16.2 IP, 0.54 ERA, three saves)and Redmond Walsh (11.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, two saves)were also off to great starts under Anderson's guidance in 2020. The pair combined for five saves and allowed just two runs over 28.1 innings pitched. They also combined for 24 strikeouts and issued just four walks.
Tennessee's pitching staff took a giant leap forward in 2019 and was one of the nation's best throughout the year, helping lead the UT back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005. Under Anderson's guidance, the Volstied a program record with 10 shutouts (including three in conference play),racked up 551 strikeouts (second most in program history) and set a new program record in strikeouts per nine innings (9.16). UT had a 3.59 ERA and held opposing hitters to a .239 batting average (lowest since 1996). At season’s end, UT’s pitching staff was ranked among the Top 25 nationally in shutouts (second), strikeout-to-walk ratio (ninth), WHIP (10th), walks allowed per nine innings (14th) and ERA (19th).
The Vols got off to the best start in program history by winning theirfirst 15 games of the year, due in large partto the pitching staff thatposted shutouts in each of their first four games while not allowing a run for 41.0 consecutive innings to begin the season, both program records.
Junior starter Garrett Stallings completely transformed himself in the offseason and developed into Tennessee's unquestioned ace, leading the team with a career-high eight victories and 106 strikeouts. Stallings was named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year andearned a spot on the SEC All-Defensive Team. The Chesapeake, Va., nativewas also named SEC Pitcher of the Week twice, becoming the first Vol to accomplish that feat since James Adkins in 2007, after throwingtwo complete-game shutouts in SEC play to lead UT to wins over No. 2 Georgia and No. 15 Ole Miss.Stallings (fifth round) as well as fellow junior pitchers Andrew Schultz (sixth round) and Zach Linginfelter(ninth round) were all selected on Day 2 ofthe 2019 MLB Draft.
Redshirt sophom*ore Redmond Walsh also had a breakout 2019 campaign under Anderson. The crafty lefty developed into Tennessee's closer and set career bests in ERA (1.38), appearances (27), wins (two), saves (nine), innings pitched (45.2), strikeouts (48) and opponent batting average (.232).
In Anderson's first season at Tennessee, he helped lead the Volunteers to a five-win improvement in SEC play as the team won 12 conference games for the first time since 2014. Under Anderson's guidance, true freshmen pitchers Sean Hunley, Garrett Crochet and Chase Wallace had solid debutseasons. Hunleyled the team with a 2.64 ERA and a 7-3 record after becoming the first freshman in program history to start a season 6-0. Crochet finished the year tied for second on the team in wins with five and was second in the team with 62 strikeouts while spending time as a starter and a reliever. Wallace was third on the team with a 2.86 ERA and led the team with three saves on the year.
Junior starter Will Neely also emerged as a consistent weekend starter for the Vols, going 4-2 while tying for the SEC lead with three complete games on the year. Neely pitched at least five innings in 12 of his 14 starts on the year and led the team with 83.2 innings pitched.
During Anderson’s first season at Oklahoma State, he led the Pokes to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001. He guided OSU to the Big 12 Tournament Championship in 2004, its first in program history.
The 2006 season started an impressive three-year run for the Cowboys, as they posted three straight seasons of 41 or more victories. Anderson’s squad earned the No. 1 national seed in the NCAA Tournament that year, and in 2007 the program reached the NCAA Super Regionals.
Another successful season followed in 2008, with the Pokes climbing as high as No. 5 in the national rankings. Oklahoma State finished the season ranked all three years from 2006-08.
Before taking over in Stillwater, Anderson was the pitching coach on Augie Garrido’s staff at Texas for four years (2000-03). During his time in Austin, Anderson helped lead the Longhorns to three consecutive College World Series appearances (2001-03), and helped them win a national championship in 2002.
Other stops for Anderson included 10 years as an assistant at Texas Tech (1990-99), three seasons at Howard College (1987-89) and three years as an assistant at his alma mater, Emporia State (1983-85). In total, Anderson has been a part of Division I coaching staffs of teamsthat have advanced to21NCAA Regionals, sevenNCAA Super Regionals and have made fourtrips to the College World Series.
Houstonfinished in the top-10 nationally in team earned run average during three of Anderson’s five seasons with the program.The Cougars had the country’s lowest regular-season ERA (2.04) and WHIP (1.00) in 2014 while also tying a program record with 48 victories and making the postseason for the first time since 2008.
Anderson’s pitching staffs were equally as impressive in 2015 and 2016, leading the American Athletic Conference and ranking among the top-10 in ERA during both seasons. Houston finished the 2016 season with a 2.48 ERA, which ranked No. 2 in the country.
While at Texas, Anderson’s pitching staffs were a key factor in the program’s three consecutive trips to Omaha. The Longhorns led the Big 12 in team ERA during each of his four seasons and finished among the top five in the nation three times. Anderson’s staffs at Texas recorded sparkling team ERAs of 2.82 in 2002, 3.17 in 2001 and 3.30 in 2000, and also posted the program's best team ERA since 1983 (2.72) and the second-lowest ERA nationally in the 2002 campaign.
Anderson has mentored some of the nation’s top pitchers throughout his career. In 2017, he coached sophom*ore left-hander Trey Cumbie to AAC Pitcher of the Year honors. Cumbie led the conference with a 2.02 ERA in the regular season while posting a 9-1 record and was just selected by the Texas Rangers in the 38th round of the 2017 MLB Draft.
Junior left-hander Seth Romero wastaken in the first round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals with the 25th overall pick. Under Anderson’s guidance, Romero was named a first-team Freshman All-American byBaseball Americaand the National Collegiate Baseball Writers’ Association (NCBWA) in 2015. Romero was also named the AAC Rookie of the Year and was invited to play for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.
In 2016, the Cougars had two pitchers selected in the eighth round of the MLB Draft, with Andrew Lantrip going 242nd overall to the Cleveland Indians and Nick Hernandez going 247th overall to the Houston Astros. Lantrip led the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio (16.80) during the 2016 season.
Anderson saw multiple members of his pitching staff taken in the 2015 MLB Draft, as right-handed pitchers Jake Lemoine and Patrick Weigel were drafted in the fourth and seventh rounds, respectively. Lemoine became the highest-drafted Cougar since 2009. Two more pitchers were selected on the final day of the draft, joining three position players, bringing Houston's total to eight.
Anderson is a native of Grant, Nebraska, and earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Emporia State in 1983 before going on to attain his master’s degree from the school in 1985. Prior to attending ESU, Anderson played two seasons at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and was a junior college All-American at Mid-Plains Junior College in North Platte, Nebraska.
Anderson and his wife, Sandra, have two children: a daughter Katelyn, and a son, Brett, whohas played13 seasons as a pitcher in the Majors.
