Former Nebraska baseball coach Mike Anderson is once again leading a college program.
The nine-year Husker skipper is taking the head job at Northern Colorado according to a report from D1Baseball.com, marking a return to his alma mater. Twelve-year UNC coach Carl Iwasaki announced last month he was stepping down after 12 seasons.
Anderson was a fixture in Lincoln for 17 seasons, arriving to coach hitters and outfielders under John Sanders in 1995 and remaining on staff under new coach Dave Van Horn in 1998. Former Athletic Director Bill Byrne promoted Anderson after Van Horn left for Arkansas following the 2002 season, which ended with Nebraska’s second straight College World Series appearance.
Anderson enjoyed early success, highlighted by the Huskers returning to the CWS in 2005. He earned Big 12 Coach of the Year honors in 2003 and 2005 and made the postseason five times overall. But NU finished either last or second-to-last in conference action from 2009 to 2011. The school replaced him with Darin Erstad as it entered the Big Ten.
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Anderson, now 57, has been a high school coach and Oklahoma assistant in recent season. He heads to UNC from a job as Colorado scouting director with Prep Baseball Report. Anderson was an outfielder with the Bears from 1983-86.
Northern Colorado – fresh off its first baseball season in the Summit League – was a familiar midweek foe for Nebraska thanks to Anderson’s roots. The schools have played 39 times since 2004, when UNC returned to Division I, and met in 16 of 17 seasons from there. They didn’t match up last spring.
Looking back at the last five seasons of Nebraska baseball
2022

Final game: Regular-season win over Michigan State
Record: 23-30
Coach: Will Bolt
MLB draft: TBD
Notable: Did not make the Big Ten tournament
2021

Final game: Loss to No. 1 national seed Arkansas in regional final
Record: 34-14
Coach: Will Bolt
MLB draft: Spencer Schwellenbach (2nd round, 59 overall, Oakland Athletics), Cade Povich (3rd round, 98 overall, Minnesota Twins), Cam Wynne (20th round, 595 overall, Philadelphia Phillies)
Notable: Won Big Ten regular-season title, Big Ten tournament canceled, season shortened and conference-only due to COVID-19
2020

Final game: Regular season win over Northern Colorado
Record: 7-8
Coach: Will Bolt
Notable: Season cut short due to coronavirus pandemic. Will Bolt's first season as head coach.
2019

Final game: NCAA Oklahoma City Regional loss to UConn
Record: 32-24
Coach: Darin Erstad
MLB draft: Matt Waldron (18th round, 550 overall, Cleveland Indians)
Notable: Coach Darin Erstad's final season, Big Ten tournament runner-up
2018

Final game: Regular-season loss to Illinois
Record: 24-28
Coach: Darin Erstad
MLB draft: Scott Schreiber (9th round, 282 overall, Houston Astros), Jesse Wilkening (14th round, 407 overall, Philadelphia Phillies), Luis Alvarado (17th round, 511 overall, Los Angeles Angels)
Notable: Did not make the Big Ten tournament