CHANGING LIVES FOR THE BETTER

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March 2, 2025

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here. 

Notre Dame Prep alum and Spartan infielder Jacob Anderson NDP'21, who was named to the Lou Gehrig Community Impact Team last month, says his time in high school helped build a firm foundation that's allowed him to flourish in college and exemplify "the spirit and character of Lou Gehrig, both on and off the field."

Last month, on Feb. 19, NDP grad Jacob Anderson was named to the 2025 Lou Gehrig Community Impact Team, the only player from the Big Ten Conference on the nine-player list and one of only two players from a Power 4 conference team.

A press release published Feb. 19 by MSU's athletic department said Anderson has demonstrated remarkable success both on the baseball field and within his community, establishing himself as a dedicated and compassionate leader. 

"Jacob Anderson is the consummate student-athlete who represents our athletics department in the most incredible manner on the field, in the classroom, and in the community," said MSU Associate Director of Student-Athlete Support Services Melissa Tallant. "He carries a 3.54 GPA and will graduate with a degree in kinesiology. He has a genuine desire to make his community a better place and consistently puts others ahead of himself while realizing the platform he has to impact those in need."

On the field, Anderson played an important role last season as the fifth infielder, dealing with an early-season injury, finishing with a .255 batting average. This season, he was elected one of two team captains in a vote by his teammates, and he stepped into the starting role at third base, where his skills, leadership, and determination will be vital to the team's success.

Off the field, Anderson's involvement in the community is equally impressive. He serves as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Representative for the baseball team, actively participating in various initiatives aimed at giving back to others. Anderson has contributed to events like Teams for Toys, the Student-Athlete Food Drive, and the Student-Athlete Career Mixer, all of which serve to support both the local community and his fellow student-athletes.

Anderson's leadership shines through in his work with organizations that support individuals with special needs. Through the baseball team, he has played a pivotal role in helping out with the Miracle League of Mid-Michigan, where he assists special needs youth as their 'buddy' during games on an adaptive rubberized surface. Additionally, Anderson has been involved with the Beautiful Lives Project, helping host a clinic for special needs youth, and with Team Impact, where the team adopted a six-year-old boy battling cancer, offering him love and support through a difficult journey.

Anderson is also a member of Athletes in Action on campus, participating in their Operation Christmas Child initiative, where he helps pack and send shoeboxes with Christmas gifts to children in need around the world. Looking ahead, Anderson plans to contribute to the City Rescue Mission, where he will assist in feeding and housing homeless individuals in the East Lansing area.

Jason Gendreau, Anderson's NDP coach, says his former four-year varsity player and team captain was a great leader. "Much of his success to this day is centered around his work ethic in the weight room," said Gendreau. "His hard work and coach Polega’s guidance took him from a D2 athlete to D1. Just a completely all-around great kid. He had a pure love of the game and total respect for others."

Currently in Greenville, South Carolina, for a weekend series of games against Harvard University, the No. 23 Spartans opened with a 14-1 victory over the Crimson boosted by six home runs, including one from team captain Anderson. Despite a busy week and weekend, Anderson checked in with his high school alma mater to talk NDP, MSU and serving in the community.

(The following interview was edited for clarity and space.)

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What was your reaction after finding out you were named to the Lou Gehrig Community Impact Team? 

To be honest, it was just such a blessing. I’m very grateful to be awarded it, and I’m going to continue doing what I’ve been doing, I guess.”

How did [MSU baseball] Coach [Jake] Boss tell you the news? 

He told me at practice one day when we were throwing. He walked up to me and said I had been named to this award and that he is just grateful to be a part of it as well, because we do stuff as a team, too. He just came up to me at practice and told me that I was on a team, he didn’t really give many details. It was more of a general thing that I was awarded some community service honor, and honestly, I wasn’t too sure about how specific or how big of a deal it was at the time, but for sure, I’m just thankful to be a part of it.

How did it feel once you realized that you were only one of nine guys in the country to get this award, and the only one in the Big Ten to get this honor? 

It blew my mind reading that to be honest. I was very surprised. I’m just grateful to be surrounded by such good people that are leading me in the right direction. Everybody on the team, all my teammates, all my coaches, and honestly, just all the people around the organization and the program that kind of help push me towards, you know, being such a great person. When you surround yourself with great people, you’re going to become one as well.

Beyond everything listed in the press release on everything you do in the community, can you talk about the “whys” behind your work in giving back to others? 

I just feel like treating people how you want to be treated is the big thing. I’ve been treated poorly before, and I really think that loving people is such an important thing. It’s really fulfilling just to be able to serve others and really just find happiness in serving others and bringing happiness to others because if everything’s about yourself, it’s not going to be a fun life. Finding fulfillment and trying to serve others and bring happiness to others. Community service just puts a smile on my face about making a difference in someone else’s life.
 
How did your time at Notre Dame Prep affect you in college both as a student and member and contributor to the greater university community? Did the constant reminders in high school to be a “Christian person, upright citizen and academic scholar” resonate with you – and how? 

I haven’t heard that in a while, but I remember hearing that in high school every day. Notre Dame Prep is such a great community of people. My four years there kind of changed the trajectory of my life. I wasn’t sure what I was capable of and the people there really made me feel welcome. It was just that saying we have ‘Christian person, upright citizen and academic scholar’ just entails who we are as a school at Notre Dame Prep. I think that everybody around the school kind of values that. When you see upperclassmen following that motto, it makes a stamp on you as a younger person. And just once again, I really want to emphasize that the people in life really, really matter, and who you surround yourself with makes a really big difference in your life. 

The people at Notre Dame Prep really made me feel welcome. They helped me believe that I could accomplish anything in life. I am very, very grateful for everybody around the school, the teachers, the coaches, the training staff, they were all great people supporting me. Growing up, you hear stories that high school isn’t much fun for people and people struggle, but everybody at NDP was very supportive and I’m very grateful for that.

Can you talk about your experience in college thus far, including academics, and how NDP may have influenced your time in college? 

Notre Dame Prep built a base for me personally. Being a Christian person, being an upward citizen, emphasizing being an academic scholar as well, just kind of the basics of life, being disciplined and things that are so simple. It’s so simple to be a nice person. It’s so simple to try hard in school and do your best. I really think that doing your best to be a nice person in the classroom, and as a Christian person, it’s just very simple and they built that firm foundation. In college, the world kind of opens up and there are a lot more opportunities than in high school. I think that firm foundation that they built in me was able to show and able to shine when I got to college.
 
How did your NDP baseball and basketball experience prepare you for college athletics? 

Coach [Jason] Gendreau and Coach Whitney [Robinson], those two coaches changed my life for the better for sure, many other assistant coaches as well, but those two guys specifically. As well as [strength] Coach [Christian] Polega in the weight room, I still talk to him once in a while. They helped me, whether it was recruiting or in life, they were there for me. We were there together when things were going bad, and we were there together when things were going well. They kind of helped build a young boy into a young man, and just the values of discipline, respect and honestly being a believer and being a Christian person. They really instilled that, and I think it made a big impact.
 
You are a kinesiology major. What are your plans for a future career after MSU and baseball? 

I’m graduating in the summer, but I do have a fifth year because I redshirted in my freshman year. I’m just taking it a day at a time right now, but I think the future holds either coaching, really love the idea of being a coach, or something in the medical device field.
 
Anything else you want to add?
 
I am just incredibly grateful for the people and my time at Notre Dame Prep. They really did change my life for the better.

More about the Lou Gehrig Community Impact Team:

Since 1955, Phi Delta Theta International Fraternity has presented the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award to the Major League Baseball player who best exemplifies the spirit and character of Lou Gehrig, both on and off the field. Created to memorialize beloved Phi Delta Theta member Lou Gehrig following his death from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), the award is housed in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. Through the growing impact of the award, Phi Delta Theta recognizes some of the best men in baseball while positively impacting the ALS community.

To further Lou Gehrig's legacy and his storied baseball career that began at the collegiate level at Columbia University, Phi Delta Theta, in partnership with the Live Like Lou Foundation, introduced the Lou Gehrig Community Impact Team in 2024 to annually recognize the giving character and community impact of collegiate baseball players.

Phi Delta Theta and the Live Like Lou Foundation are proud to announce the 2025 Lou Gehrig Community Impact Team. Honorees were nominated by their schools, and the team was selected based on outstanding achievements in three key areas:

• Demonstrating a substantial commitment to their community through service and philanthropy.
• Embodying the generous spirit and character of Lou Gehrig.
• Making remarkable contributions to the success of their respective teams.

Following the selection of the team, the player who garnered the highest number of votes by the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award Voting Committee was named Captain and has the opportunity to collaborate with Phi Delta Theta and the Live Like Lou Foundation to organize an on-field ceremony dedicated to honoring him and contributing $4,000 to support a family affected by ALS in the local community.

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org

About Notre Dame Preparatory School
"At Notre Dame Prep, we inspire our students to become the best versions of themselves. We challenge them through an experience of academic excellence, focused on active, project-based learning. We invite them to explore a world of opportunities beyond the classroom. We guide them as they grow in spirituality within a community strong in its Catholic and Marist identity."

Notre Dame Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School's upper school enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame Prep's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDP is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School, visit the school’s home page at www.ndprep.org.