From his dorm in tiny Sterling, Colorado, Ondrej Vank visualized his plan of attack against the world’s greatest player.
This was no daydreaming. Vank, a promising right-hander who is the No. 1 starter for Northeastern Junior College, is playing for the Czech Republic in the World Baseball Classic. He is one of only a handful of college players to make a 2026 WBC roster.
Japan is in Czech Republic’s pool for the tournament, setting up the possibility of Vank facing off against Dodgers superstar designated hitter Shohei Ohtani when the two teams play on March 10 at the Tokyo Dome.
“It’s every kid’s dream to face Ohtani,” said Vank, who will pitch out of the bullpen for the Czech Republic. “I’ve visualized facing Ohtani a couple times already. How I might start him off, and what I might throw in certain counts.
“I’ll take the showdown with respect, but I also don’t want to give him too much respect — I want to believe in myself that I can do the job and put him away.”
The appearance in the WBC for Vank, the Region IX Pitcher of the Year last year for the Plainsmen, is a culmination of a lifetime of work in the game despite growing up in a soccer- and hockey-dominated country where baseball is very low on the list of sporting priorities.
Vank started playing for Czech Republic’s youth national team at 12, and by age 16, he was pitching in the country’s highest league, the Czech Baseball Extraliga. As a teenager competing against adult men, he won the award for the league’s top junior player.
His journey on the diamond took him all around Europe and the world, including to Taiwan, Italy, Nederland, Germany, Spain and Japan already. Vank also went to London for an MLB Development Camp, North Carolina where he played his junior season of high school, and Phoenix for a showcase before arriving on Colorado’s eastern plains.
The 6-foot-1 right-hander from Prague has a low-90s fastball, a slider and a curveball and also recently added a changeup. Before he got to Northeastern, he was primarily a fastball/slider pitcher. But the expansion of his arsenal, and a strong first season in Sterling, put him on the radar of Division I recruiters.
“In the last 18 months, him fully developing into a four-pitch repertoire type of guy is opening up opportunities for him, whether it’s Division I or professionally, to now have more options and be either a starter, a reliever or a closer,” Northeastern head coach Andrew Kachel said.
Kachel said Vank’s signature moment so far with the Plainsmen came in the regular season finale last season, when Vank baffled Western Nebraska Community College with eight innings of shutout ball, scattering three hits while racking up 10 strikeouts.
Vank’s catcher, Northeastern Junior College sophomore Brayden Stufft, says the sacrifices the pitcher is making to come play ball thousands of miles from home — leaving behind family and friends in the process — is apparent. So, too, is Vank’s “energy and aura.”
“At the beginning of last season, he was super quiet, and you could tell he was here for business,” Stufft said. “He was here to dominate and make his family back home proud. He has. Many of his starts have been electric.
“And for him to play in the WBC, it brings a lot of attention to us as a program. We’re striving as a team to win a (region) title and go to a district and eventually go to the JuCo World Series. That’s our goals, and seeing our ace on the world stage gives us confidence as a team that we belong.”
Vank’s mother, Marie Vanková, says that while growing up, her son earned the nickname “srdcař” from his teammates. The rough English translation of that is someone who does something with immense passion, because Vank was always determined to become one of the top baseball players in his country.
“He’s had times growing up when he was not as successful as he wanted, and he wasn’t on the path to (where he is now),” Vanková said. “So he stopped speaking about it and went to work really hard. Before school, he would wake up at 5 in the morning and go to the gym. He’s always given this game everything he has.”
As the WBC begins on Wednesday ahead of the Czech Republic’s first game on Thursday against Korea, back in Sterling, Vank’s Plainsmen will be pulling hard for “srdcař”.
“We’re going to be eyes-locked on the TV — we’ll put the game on in the clubby, or we’ll just put it on a projector somewhere,” Stufft said. “We will be watching and supporting him from afar, with probably tons of phones out (to record) when he gets on the mound.
“And no matter what happens (against Japan), we’ve all been joking with him to get an Ohtani signature to bring us back as a souvenir.”
Players with Colorado ties in the 2026 WBC
Local names to watch for in the 2026 World Baseball Classic that culminates with the championship on March 17 in Miami.
Rockies players/prospects
LHP Brennan Bernardino (Mexico)
INF Cole Carrigg (Israel)
UTL Willi Castro (Puerto Rico)
LHP Antoine Jean (Canada)
OF Troy Johnston (Israel)
2B Edouard Julien (Canada)
RHP Michael Lorenzen (Italy)
RHP Juan Mejia (Dominican Republic)
LHP Jose Quintana (Columbia)
RHP Antonio Senzatela (Venezuela)
RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (Japan)
SS Ezequiel Tovar (Venezuela)
RHP Victor Vodnik (Mexico)
Ex-Rockies, locals
Puerto Rico 3B Nolan Arenado (ex-Rockies)
Dominican Republic RHP Carlos Estévez (ex-Rockies)
Puerto Rico RHP Rico Garcia (ex-Rockies)
USA RHP Griffin Jax (Cherry Creek, Air Force)
USA RHP Paul Skenes (Air Force)
Venezuela RHP Anthony Molina (ex-Rockies)
Italy RHP Adam Ottavino (ex-Rockies)
Nederlands OF Jurickson Profar (ex Rockies)
Canada RHP Cal Quantrill (ex-Rockies)
Czech Republic RHP Ondrej Vank (Northeastern Junior College)
Czech Republic UTL Terrin Vavra (ex-Rockies prospect)
Coaches of note
Colorado Rockies left fielder Gerardo Parra (8) and Vinny Castilla (9) laugh as they head to the the backfield during workouts on Feb. 21, 2018 at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Mexico bench coach Vinny Castilla (ex-Rockies, current special assistant)
USA hitting coach Matt Holliday (ex-Rockies)
Israel bullpen coach Jason Marquis (ex-Rockies)
Canada hitting coach Justin Morneau (ex-Rockies)
Venezuela first base coach Gerardo Parra (ex-Rockies)
Great Britain third base coach Jeff Salazar (ex-Rockies player/hitting coach)
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