Raiders’ Anderson commits to Billikens, will join brother to play for national contender

QUINCY — Tanner Anderson found it difficult to see how any top-level collegiate soccer program could have swayed him from landing at Saint Louis University.

“If I’d had gone on a visit somewhere and seen something special, then maybe,” he said

Still, that was unlikely.

“It’s easy for me to decide SLU with everything going on,” Anderson said.

So after making an official visit last weekend, the Quincy Notre Dame junior all-state forward verbally committed to the Billikens. He joins his older brother, Seth, as part of the SLU family, and the two should have at least two seasons to play together collegiately.

Seth Anderson has two goals in 16 games this fall as a true freshman at SLU, helping the Billikens rise to No. 2 nationally in the Top Drawer Soccer rankings. The Billikens are 13-0-3 heading into Friday’s A-10 Tournament semifinal.

“He left the decision up to me,” Anderson said of his older brother’s influence. “He would tell me some cool things and some cool stories about SLU and stuff that’s going on. He was kind of bribing me to go there, but he left it up to me in the end. He knew I ultimately had the final decision.”

It turned out to be an easy decision. Anderson, who plays with the St. Louis Scott Gallagher 2002 Elite club team, built a relationship with the SLU coaching staff prior to his recruitment. And he’s familiar with the players, too.

“The family they have is something special there,” Anderson said. “The team and the coaches bond really well together. They fight for each other. Their values are super special. It’s super easy for me to choose them.”

Anderson led the Raiders to a 13-5-3 record and a berth in the Class 1A sectional finals this fall by scoring 35 goals and adding 10 assists. His 35 goals is tied for the second most in a single season in program history, matching the 35 goals Seth Anderson scored in his senior season.

Anderson also finished the season with 65 career goals, which ranks second all-time. He moved past Gary Koetters, who had 64 career goals, and will go into his senior chasing Seth Anderson’s record of 79 goals. He can pursue those historic achievements without the pressure of recruiting.

“It takes a lot of stress off my shoulders,” Anderson said. “Being able to commit this early is something special. It’s something anyone would want to do if they had the opportunity. So it’s a lot of stress off my shoulders now that I don’t have to worry about talking to other coaches, talking to other schools, going on visits. It’s a relief for me personally.”