UVA sophomore Ethan Anderson credits military family background for mentality and success

OMAHA, Neb. (WAVY/WFXR) – Growing up in a military family is common in Hampton Roads. UVA sophomore Ethan Anderson is like a lot of kids in that regard.

Now, he’s playing for a college baseball national championship in Omaha with Virginia.

The Cox High School graduate is a catcher and utility player with the Cavaliers, who are in Omaha for the College World Series. He was a third-team All-ACC selection at first base, and was the first UVA player since 2013 with a five-hit game. Anderson was also No. 34 on D1Baseball’s Preseason Top 50 first basemen.

At Cox, he was first-team All-Tidewater in 2019 and 2021, and was the No. 1 catcher and No. 4 overall player in Virginia, according to Perfect Game.

In his freshman season at UVA, Anderson batted .302 with 5 homers and 39 RBI in 50 games played. So far this season, he is batting .377 with 14 homers and 65 RBI. Two of those homers came in Games 2 and 3 against Duke on June 10 and June 11 in the NCAA Super Regional to help the Cavaliers advance to the College World Series.

He credits his family with the success he has found in life and on the field. Though moving around a lot, they ground him. He has a grandfather and an uncle in the U.S. Marine Corps, another uncle with the U.S. Army, and his father served in the U.S. Navy.

“Moving around, and having those father figures, male role models in my life, show(ed) me the discipline that it takes and how they go about their business each day and the love they have for their country,” Anderson said.

He had help from the Navy SEAL Foundation giving him the opportunity to attend summer camps. It’s that impact the organization had on him that he decided to give back, taking the entire amount of his Name, Image and Likeness deal and donating it to the Navy SEAL Foundation.

“I love helping out people that helped me out,” Anderson said.

And UVA head coach Brian O’Connor has certainly taken notice.

“The fiber and the character of Ethan Anderson, you can see it on the field, but being around him every day,” O’Connor said, “you can see what growing up in a household of a Navy SEAL has benefited him.”