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Ben Oosterbaan finished off perhaps the greatest season by an individual in Hinsdale Central basketball history. Then it was time to get back to work on his primary sport.
Oosterbaan, a senior forward, broke the boys basketball program’s single-season scoring record, averaging 20.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals while leading the Red Devils to 31 wins and a Class 4A sectional championship game.
Oosterbaan earned a plethora of honors. He was named to 4A all-state second teams by both the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association and The Associated Press. But as good as he was on the basketball court, Oosterbaan is also a talented pitcher/shortstop who has committed to play baseball for Michigan.
“Basketball season was really exciting and really fun,” he said. “Transitioning right back to baseball is tough. I have to build some weight back up and get my arm strength up. It’s a challenge at first, but I’m really looking forward to this baseball season.”
On the mound, Oosterbaan can overpower hitters with a hard fastball and a strong command of all his pitches. He typically hits in the No. 2 spot in Hinsdale Central’s lineup and plays shortstop when he isn’t pitching.
“He’s an incredible leader and an incredible athlete,” Hinsdale Central baseball coach Jason Ziemer said. “He can play multiple positions, and offensively he can do everything well. He’s kind of the ultimate all-around player.
“It’s similar to basketball because he could probably play all five positions in basketball. In baseball, he can drive the baseball when he needs to hit, he can hit the ball the other way when he needs to, he can bunt, he’s a great base runner. He can really do it all.”
When Oosterbaan takes those diverse talents to Ann Arbor, he will be living out a childhood dream.
“I’ve wanted to go to Michigan forever,” he said. “I’m excited to go there and represent the state and a great university. Their fans have so much pride, so to be able to represent them and try to play for championships is exciting.
“The Big Ten — there’s not much more you could ask for in terms of competition. I’m looking forward to trying to win the Big Ten and national championships.”
Oosterbaan already has major name recognition among Michigan fans.
He is the great-grandnephew of Bennie Oosterbaan, who is considered one of the greatest athletes in Michigan history. In the 1920s, Bennie Oosterbaan was a three-time All-American in football, a two-time All-American in basketball and a two-time all-conference selection in baseball.
“When someone hears my name around Ann Arbor, especially since my name is Ben and his name is Bennie, they’ll always ask me about him and how I’m related to him,” Ben Oosterbaan said. “They’re super nice about it. It’s really cool. I’m excited to go do the best I can to live up to that legacy.”
Oosterbaan grew up in a family full of Michigan fans and alums.
“Almost everyone in my family has gone to Michigan,” he said. “My grandpa played basketball there. My uncle played basketball there. My dad and my mom both went there, and my dad played tennis there. My brother’s there now. I’ve been going to Michigan football games forever.”
Oosterbaan said he was inspired by Joe and Charlie Donovan, brothers who played baseball at Westmont and both committed to Michigan. Joe Donovan played for the Wolverines, but Charlie Donovan died before his college career began.
“Joe Donovan was one of my biggest role models,” Oosterbaan said. “I trained with his dad for baseball, and they were really good family friends. When Joe was playing there, I went to a couple Michigan baseball games. I went out to California and watched Michigan play UCLA and USC in 2019, the year they went to the College World Series.
“That’s kind of when I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to follow Joe and Charlie.”
Oosterbaan comes from a family of athletes, but baseball had never really been their thing.
“Nobody in my family has really played baseball ever,” Oosterbaan said. “We’re a basketball and tennis family. My older sister (Olivia) plays tennis at Montana now, and I played a lot with her growing up. I have three cousins who played college tennis.
“But I just felt like my dad wanted me to try something different. I grew that love for baseball.”
Oosterbaan does have one relative with a major baseball background. Steve Verduzco is a former minor leaguer who was drafted in the fourth round of the 1993 draft by the Houston Astros.
“He’s my uncle, not a blood uncle, but he married my dad’s cousin,” Oosterbaan said. “His sons, my cousins, are all my age, and I played with them growing up. They helped me develop my love for baseball, and he has helped me with the sport for a long time.”
Oosterbaan noted two major turning points in his life that helped fuel his passion for baseball.
The first came when he was 12 years old and his Hinsdale Little League team fell just one win short of the World Series. Hinsdale reached the regional finals and got to play in a game that appeared on ESPN.
“That was so fun,” Oosterbaan said. “We were practicing twice a day every day in the summer, and that’s kind of when I started to take baseball seriously. I was like, ‘This is something I’m good at and I can do to help my life.’
“That run definitely inspired me.”
Oosterbaan said he also believes that rare experience of playing on such a big stage at such a young age has helped him over the years.
“Facing that pressure really early helped me a lot down the road,” he said. “I had already played in front of all those people, playing on TV, when I was 12.”
A few years later, Oosterbaan’s family was visiting the Verduzco family in South Carolina when the country shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We were trapped there,” Oosterbaan said. “The island closed, and no one was allowed to leave. So we just trained for baseball every day. We had nothing else to do, and the weather was really warm. That helped me a lot, and I felt like my game really took a jump there.”
Oosterbaan developed into a two-sport star, and both of his Hinsdale Central coaches rave about the impact he has had on their teams — and not just with his athletic abilities.
“His leadership has been great,” Red Devils basketball coach Nick Latorre said. “He works hard every day. He always wants to get better, and that rubs off on everyone else. He’s such a tough player.
“It was fun to watch him grow on the basketball court, develop his all-around game and become such an impactful player.”
While Ziemer had a blast watching the Oosterbaan-led Red Devils make a deep postseason run in basketball, he certainly missed having Oosterbaan around for the start of baseball practices.
“The biggest thing is his presence,” Ziemer said. “The guys really look up to him. He’s kind of the leader of the pack. We had other guys that stepped up in his absence that first week or so when he was still with basketball.
“But when he came back, it’s a huge presence, both for having his voice in the dugout and from a talent and athleticism standpoint.”
Ziemer said he thinks Oosterbaan’s basketball experiences help him greatly in baseball.
“The value of playing multiple sports can not be beaten,” Ziemer said. “The competitiveness, playing under pressure, the idea of being a great teammate in another sport, is invaluable. I wish more guys would do it. We keep hearing it from college coaches that they want multisport guys. I love that Ben does it.”
Oosterbaan agrees. After playing in intense postseason basketball games, he thinks a sticky situation on the mound will feel a bit less stressful.
“I think the biggest thing is the competition,” he said. “In basketball, when I’m at the free-throw line with the game on the line, learning how to play with that pressure helps in baseball when I’m in pressure situations.”
Oosterbaan went 3-2 with a 2.18 ERA and hit .301 as the Red Devils went 20-11 last season. He’s hoping to improve on those numbers and lead his team to big things this season.
He also wants to enjoy the moments during his last sports season at Hinsdale Central.
“The best teams I’ve ever been on are ones where your legitimate family and friends are all on the team and it’s the perfect combination of fun and seriousness,” Oosterbaan said. “This basketball season, everyone took it seriously, and we’d get on each other if someone was slacking or not doing the right thing. But we’d also just have fun in the gym, practicing together as friends. We had great chemistry and clicked on the court.
“So that’s what I want baseball to be too. Just trying to have as much fun and win as much as possible. We’re going to find that groove of fun and competitiveness.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
