NEW ORLEANS (June 5, 2025) – Kade Anderson, the star left-handed pitcher for LSU, has been selected as May's Allstate Sugar Bowl Athlete of the Month presented by LCMC Health. Athletes of the month have been selected by the New Orleans Sports Awards Committee since 1957. The athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region to be eligible.
 
Allstate Sugar Bowl Athletes of the Month
 
Anderson, a sophomore from Madisonville who graduated from St. Paul's School, posted a 4-1 record in May as he helped the Tigers to the No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. In his five May starts, he recorded a 2.30 ERA, allowing 22 hits and eight runs in 31.1 innings to go with 54 strikeouts. He had double digits in strikeouts in four of his five appearances to give him ten 10-plus K performances on the season. His 12 strikeouts in the win over Texas A&M (5/3) are the school record for punch-outs in an SEC Tournament effort. In his NCAA Regional appearance against Dallas Baptist (5/31), he tossed seven innings of four-hit, shutout ball while striking out 11 to key the Tigers' victory.
 
"And Kade, as Kade has been all year, was the best pitcher on the planet tonight. And executed at a high level," LSU head coach Jay Johnson said after the Dallas Baptist victory.

Anderson is expected to get the start on Saturday in the first game of LSU's NCAA Super Regional against West Virginia. The game is slated for a 1 p.m. start from Alex Box Stadium. It will be televised live on ESPN. The second game is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Sunday on ESPN2.

For the year, the southpaw has a 9-1 record with a 3.28 ERA and 156 strikeouts (No. 1 in the nation, as of 6/1) in 96 innings (tops in the SEC). Opponents are hitting just .216 against him and he has walked just 26 batters.
 
Anderson won the honor over six other standout local athletes.

• Emma Aldana, a seventh grader on the Willow School track and field team, had a hand in two-thirds of her team's points as the Lions took home a share of the Class 4A girls title at the LHSAA track and field championships in Baton Rouge. Aldana turned in three personal bests in winning the 800 meters in 2:18.27, the 1,600 in 5:03.94 and the 3,200 in 11:12.42. For good measure, she ran a leg on Willow's fourth-place finish in the 4x800 relay. The Lions tied with West Feliciana for the 4A crown.
• Josh Brown single-handedly led the Holy Cross track and field team to a top-five finish in Class 5A at the LHSAA track and field championships May 10 in Baton Rouge. The senior won the 100 meters in a wind-legal 10.27 seconds, captured the 200 meters in a wind-aided 20.43 seconds, and anchored the Tigers' winning 4x100 relay, which crossed the line in 40.87. Those 30 points were Holy Cross' entire meet total, good for fifth place. Brown, nicknamed "Turbo," also played cornerback on the Tiger football team.
• Ja'ir Burks, a sophomore for the Jesuit track and field team, swept the hurdle events as the Blue Jays came within one point of a team title in Class 5A at the LHSAA track and field championships May 10 in Baton Rouge. Burks won the 110-meter hurdles in a wind-aided 13.62 seconds and the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in 38.18 seconds. Burks was Jesuit's high scorer in the meet as the Blue Jays finished second in the team standings with 60 points, one point behind Catholic High. Burks is also a wide receiver on Jesuit's football team.
• Bryce Calloway, keyed UNO baseball's run to the Southland Conference championship series in May. The senior pitcher/outfielder did it all in the first three games of the tournament as he went 7-for-12 (.583) with four home runs, seven RBI, and six runs scored while also coming on in relief and earning saves in all three games. He added two more hits, an RBI, and two runs scored in the championship series against Houston Christian. During the month of May, Calloway hit .421 (16-for-38) with four home runs, 12 runs scored, and nine RBI. He also made six relief appearances (in 11 games), earning one win and three saves. He was named to the Southland All-Tournament team.
• Jade Neves, a 15-year-old rising sophomore for the Sacred Heart golf team, captured her second LHSAA state golf championship on May 6 at Les Vieux Chenes in Youngsville. She shot an even-par 74 in the opening round and then was three-under over nine holes over the second day of the weather-shortened event to win by two strokes with a 109. The strong day-two performance by Neves helped Sacred Heart climb from second on day one to win the Division II state title for the first time since 2019. She also won the event as a seventh grader in 2023; she was sixth last year. Neves closed the month of May with a ninth-place finish at the American Junior Golf Association's New Orleans Classic at Bayou Oaks in City Park (May 27-30). That event featured top junior golfers from 17 states as well as Canada and China.
• Sierra Sacco, a graduate of John Curtis Christian School, capped an All-American season for the Mississippi State softball team by hitting .333 (9-for-27) in eight May games. She had four runs and four RBI to go with three doubles and a home run. In a May 17 NCAA regional win over Washington, she recorded her 27th multi-hit game of the year to go with two RBI and two runs to help the Bulldogs to an 11-10 win and a slot in the Regional Championship. In her final collegiate season, she posted a .450 average that ranked fourth in program history and 14th nationally. Her 1.286 OPS ranks sixth in MSU single-season history and she finished the year second all-time for runs (64) and third for doubles (19) in a season.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 29 national champions, 110 Hall of Fame players, 55 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 91-year history. The 92nd Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2026. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.5 billion into the local economy in the last decade.