Warrenton High School alum Kaylee Anderson followed up a successful high school softball career at Warrenton with a half-decade collegiate career at Southeast Missouri State University. Anderson helped the Warrenton softball team win two state titles. Since graduating from Warrenton, she played five years at SEMO and is currently finishing her masters program. Anderson led the Redhawks in hitting last season in her final season of eligibility. She hit .353 in the 2021-2022 season. She led the Redhawks with 11 home runs and 37 runs scored. The Redhawks won 30 games in her final season. Anderson is set to finish her masters degree at SEMO and graduate in May. She plans to look for a Speech Language
Pathologist position somewhere closer to Warrenton.
What is your softball background and how did you get started into the sport?
I have been playing since I was five years old, when I started with T-ball. My parents got me interested in it when they signed me up and I never looked back. My mom played softball her whole life and my dad played baseball, so I was bound to play at some point.
When did you start playing softball competitively and taking it seriously? I started playing competitively when I was nine years old. This is when Jenny (Jansen) and I joined a travel ball team together. I always took it seriously but when we were that young, it was more fun than anything. It wasn’t until I was a freshman in high school that playing at the college level was a real opportunity. I was going to more camps and talking to more coaches that made it seem more realistic.
What position(s) did you play at Warrenton?
At Warrenton, I pitched, played first, second, shortstop, third (most of freshman year), and two games in right field my freshman year. Ironically, that is the position I ended my college career playing.
Which position(s) did you play at SEMO?
At SEMO, I mostly played second base, pitched and my last two years in right field. Being an infielder my whole life, surprisingly right field was my favorite position.
Where do you think you grew the most as a player at Warrenton and what are you most proud of from your
time as a Warrior?
I think I grew the most between my sophomore and junior years at Warrenton. This was when recruiting was heavy and I went to a lot of camps. This was also when I switched travel ball teams and went to a team based out of St. Louis. I think this change was good for me. It helped me out of my comfort zone. I really did see a huge improvement in the way I played and thought about the game.
What was the recruiting process like? Did it span a short time or multiple years?
Recruiting was stressful to say the least. It was about two years of camps, emails, more camps and visits to schools. Being 13 and 14 years old trying to impress college coaches was a little difficult. The other difficult part was you are making a big decision about where you want to go, while trying to figure out what degree you want to pursue at a young age. It was a lot, but it also gave me opportunities to travel with my parents and teammates. This was the fun part. Being able to go to new places and lots of road trips with my family.
Why did you decide to commit to SEMO?
I chose SEMO because of Coach (Mark) Redburn. From my one visit and talking to him in his office, I knew I wanted to play there. He was very honest, caring and had a vision for the program. We always joked that he was almost like having another dad at school. One of the other main reasons was that it was the perfect distance from home. Only 2.5 hours away. It also had the degree that I am still currently pursuing, speech-language pathology.
Are you happy with your decision to attend SEMO?
I am very happy that I attended SEMO. Cape is now my second home as I have been here for my entire adult life so far. Taking my fifth to play was one of the easiest decisions getting to play another year for Redburn and with my friends. Thankfully, I was accepted into my masters program so I could officially stay and play.
Do you have any plans to stay involved with softball?
As of now, I plan to find a slow pitch league and stay around the sport somehow. Coaching may be in the future but for now, I will enjoy being on the other side getting to watch for a change.
