Northeastern Junior College Pitcher Ondřej Vank Named to 2026 WBC Roster

Northeastern Junior College right-handed pitcher Ondřej Vank was named to the Czech Republic roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic and is listed among the pitchers assigned to Pool C play in Tokyo March 5-10, including Czechia’s games March 5 vs. South Korea, March 6 vs. Australia, March 7 vs. Chinese Taipei and March 8 vs. Japan at the Tokyo Dome. MLB Network released official 2026 WBC rosters in early February, and Worldbaseball and BaseballAmerica roster lists include Vank among Czechia’s pitching corps.

Vank is a 20-year-old RHP listed at 6-01 and 192 pounds who throws and bats right-handed. Multiple outlets and the Worldbaseball roster identify him as a sophomore at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo.; BaseballAmerica’s roster line instead reads “Northeastern (Okla.) JC,” a discrepancy that remains on public rosters. Teammates at NJC call him “Czech,” and the college’s program lists international players from the Czech Republic, Italy and Canada on the current roster.

The 2025 season and NJCAA honors helped build Vank’s profile. He was named NJCAA Region 9 Pitcher of the Year after helping Northeastern to a Region 9 championship last spring, and Gazette statistics from his freshman campaign list a 4.54 ERA and 92 strikeouts. Vank also pitched for Czechia at the 2025 U-23 Baseball European Championship, where Czechia finished second to Great Britain; those performances drew attention from national team selectors.

Coach Andrew Kachel framed the selection as a major moment for the program. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity… and we could not be prouder or more happy for him to represent his country, as well as NJC, on the world stage!” Kachel said. He added: “Ondrej is one of only a handful of collegiate players in the entire world to be selected, and have the opportunity to play against the MLB and world’s best baseball players!”

Vank described his path to American baseball and his reaction to the selection on the Juco Pod 2.0 podcast, recounting that a prep school stint in North Carolina and connections through a pitching coach helped orchestrate his move to U.S. junior college ball. “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 podcast. Reflecting on learning he made the official roster, he said: “I was speechless for a while and emotions got the best of me. I guess enjoyment, pride are those emotions.”

NJC and social accounts marked the selection publicly; an Instagram announcement read: “Congratulations to reigning Region IX Pitcher of the Year, Ondřej Vank, on being named tonight to the official WBC roster for the Czech Republic.” Timeline details in local reporting show Vank first learned in January he was under consideration, received a confirming phone call on Feb. 6 that he made the official lineup, and departed for Japan roughly two weeks after that call.

The Czech roster includes a mix of domestic club veterans and collegiate players, with Matouš Bubeník noted as the team’s top prospect by virtue of Division I status and fellow NJCAA pitchers such as Filip Kollmann at Arizona Western and Michal Kovala at Chipola also listed. Vank’s appearance in Tokyo places a player from Sterling’s roughly 1,600-student Northeastern Junior College on an international stage where Czechia will open Pool C play March 5 and face major-league-affiliated competition through March 10.