Mount Vernon star pitcher signs to play at Boston College

Susannah Anderson

Susannah Anderson is seen on signing day at Mount Vernon High School.

Mount Vernon senior Susannah Anderson had a pretty nice array of options to continue her education and softball career. Purdue, Michigan, Connecticut, Arkansas and Boston College were among the schools that offered a scholarship to the Majors’ star pitcher.

But in the end, the city of Boston and BC’s Chestnut Hill campus drew Anderson in, as did the connection she found with her future teammates.

“I love the city. The coaching staff is great there. The campus is beautiful,” Anderson said.  “It felt like the right choice.”

Anderson formally signed her letter-of-intent to play softball at Boston College on Nov. 9, after having verbally committed to Eagles in January. A two-sport athlete at Mount Vernon, Anderson in currently starting her fourth year on the Majors’ varsity basketball team, and in the spring she’ll begin her final season on the mound for the Majors.

An honorable-mention All-Met pitcher the past two seasons, Anderson has been the Majors’ starter since her freshman season, putting together incredible numbers both on the mound and at the plate. Last season as a junior she batted a career-best .579, while also hurling 160 strikeouts and finishing with a 1.6 ERA.

For Anderson’s future coach, the 6-foot 1-inch right hander represents a special blend of talent and attitude. Ashley Obrest and her staff have been tracking Anderson since the beginning of her sophomore year, and Obrest said she’s been impressed as Anderson has taken her game to the next level,  particularly during her time playing for the New Jersey Intensity travel softball team, a program that has put out numerous Division I players.

Obrest said Anderson manages to be a down-to-earth person off the field, while also possessing an on-field intensity that gives her a “tunnel vision for the task on hand” while on the mound.

“Susannah checked every box in what we were looking for in an elite pitcher, but we were also looking for a competitor, a young lady who is determined to win an ACC championship, and an athlete that has the right mindset,” Obrest said. “We couldn’t be more excited to have Susannah in our program.”

Proud to rep family, community

Anderson did not have look far for guidance during the recruiting process. Her parents Bilyana and Chris (also Mount Vernon’s softball coach) were college athletes at Tennessee Tech, and her older brother Sean plays college football for the University of Rhode Island.

Having been through the recruiting process recently, Anderson said her brother told her not to get too high or too low based on how others viewed her. 

“He tried to emphasize and help me keep in mind that the recruiting process is a business, [and] never to be too upset,” Anderson said. 

Anderson also credited her classmates and teammates at Mount Vernon for their support through the process, saying that there’s no place else she would rather been as she made her college choice.

Anderson’s ties to Mount Vernon go deep. Aside from her brother, a 2016 graduate, her younger sister currently attends the school. Additionally, her father — a member of the school’s 1983 state football championship team — and uncles all attended Mount Vernon. 

Susannah said playing at Mount Vernon was something she had dreamed about doing as a kid, and she’s proud to be repping the Majors in the ACC. The hometown pride is even evident in her student-athlete questionnaire for Boston College, shared by her father, that showed she preferred her hometown be listed as Mount Vernon, rather than just Alexandria. 

“Everyone’s been proud and excited and it’s been great,” Anderson said of Mount Vernon. “I love the fact that I’m going to one of the top schools in the nation from this high school.”