It’s not every day that a 19-year-old gets to pitch in the World Baseball Classic. 

That’s the reality of Ondrej Vank, a Northeastern Junior College sophomore, who will represent his home country, the Czech Republic, in the upcoming World Baseball Classic that starts Thursday. Even more impressive, he is the only active college player to compete in this year’s global event. 

Czechia is in Pool C (Tokyo) with Australia, Chinese Taipei, Japan, and Korea, allowing Vank to share the field with greats like Shohei Ohtani on Team Japan. 

“It’s pretty neat and special,” Northeastern JC baseball coach Andrew Kachel said. “I know there were a lot of emotions for him. His mom and family sacrificed a lot for him to come to America to play baseball, so it was a culmination of his hard work the last two years. He is an amazing young man who understands all his parents have done for him to have this opportunity.”

Kachel is a Colorado Springs native who played baseball at Doherty High School under Cheyenne Mountain High School coach Mark Swope. Another Colorado Springs native and long-time prep coach, ABCA Hall of Famer Bill Percy, is an assistant coach at Northeastern JC. 

Vank has pitched for his home country before. He played in the 2025 U-23 Baseball European Championship, where Czechia placed second behind Great Britain. His performances caught the attention of Czechia. And in January, Vank learned he made the WBC roster, but he did not yet know if he would be a sub or in the official lineup. 

“For me, it was mainly that I wanted to get into the states, and I was told by coaches back home that I needed to start soon,” Vank said on the Juco Pod 2.0 podcast. “Junior year of high school, I went to North Carolina to play for a prep school. And there I met a pitching coach who then coached my Czech Republic team, and through that he orchestrated everything.” 

On Feb. 6, he received a phone call and found out he made the official lineup. He left for Japan just two weeks later. 

“I was speechless for a while and emotions got the best of me,” Vank said on the podcast. “I guess enjoyment, pride are those emotions.”

Vank, or “Czech” as his junior college teammates call him, was the NJCAA Region 9 Pitcher of the Year after leading the team to a Region 9 championship last spring. As a freshman, Vank recorded an ERA of 4.54 and 92 strikeouts. 

Northeastern JC is in the small “cowtown” of Sterling, Colo. (about an hour and a half east of Denver) with a population of around 13,000. The college itself has around 1,600 students. 

The junior college has had several European players the last five or six years, thanks to a strong relationship with MLB Europe and Percy’s international ties. The current roster consists of players from the Czech Republic, Italy, and Canada. 

“Like a number of our international players, he brings a different perspective and way of life for our team,” Kachel said of Vank. “The team is a melting pot of a ton of backgrounds and cultures from all over the world. It’s neat for our USA kids to meet and speak with teammates who were brought up a different way.”

The Northeastern team plans to watch “Czech” in the World Baseball Classic together with Czechia’s first game scheduled for Thursday at 8 p.m. MT against Australia. It’s a proud moment not just for Vank, but for the team and the small-town college too. 

“It’s been fun to watch their excitement for him to play in such an event,” Kachel said of the team. “The boys are just as excited, if not more than Ondrej. So many people are beyond excited for Ondrej and this opportunity to represent his country. We couldn’t be more proud or supportive, and I know he’s got 40 or so other brothers that will be cheering him on through this.”