FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
Chestnut Hill, Mass. – The Boston College baseball team rounded out its staff by added Jimmy Van Ostrand as a volunteer coach, head coach Mike Gambino announced on Wednesday afternoon. Van Ostrand brings seven years of international and minor league playing experience to the Eagles.
“It is extremely important to me that we surround our players with high character people who can help them develop on the field and also into quality men off the field. I think Jimmy fits that mold and is a great fit with our staff,” Gambino said. “He is coming off a great playing career and comes to us with extensive experience that our boys will be able to draw from. He will be a huge asset to our program and we are extremely lucky and excited to have him join as staff.”
The Vancouver, B.C., native has been a member of the Canadian National Baseball Team since 2007. He played in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, three Baseball World Cups, the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2011 Pan American Games. He drove in the only two runs for his team in the Pan Am championship game to lead Canada to a 2-1 victory and the gold medal over the United States. In the Olympics, he was 4-for-14 with two RBIs and he helped the Canadians bring home bronze medals at the 2009 and 2011 World Cups.
Van Ostrand played for California Polytechnic State University in 2005 and 2006. He earned NCAA West Region Scholar-Athlete and first-team all-conference honors. As a Mustang, he batted .317, tallying 114 hits, 44 RBIs and 17 home runs. He was drafted in the eighth round by the Houston Astros of the 2006 MLB First-Year Players Draft and has spent the last eight seasons playing in the minor leagues, reaching the triple-A level.
In the Washington Nationals organization, Van Ostrand played 21 games, tallying 21 hits in 71 at bats for the Syracuse Chiefs in the International League after being promoted from double-A during the 2013 summer. In 2011, he earned Houston Astros MiLB Organizational All-Star honors, recording a .306 batting average to go along with a 48 RBIs, 22 doubles, 11 homers and 43 walks, playing for the Corpus Christi Hooks.
Van Ostrand earned his bachelors of science degree, majoring in kinesiology from Cal Poly in 2008.
