Mustangs in the Olympics

Cal Poly Baseball Olympians

Joey Wagman, who played at Cal Poly from 2010-13, pitched for Team Israel in 202One Olympics at Tokyo.

Cal Poly baseball has been represented in the Olympics by two former Mustangs — Jimmy Van Ostrand for Team Canada in 2008 and Joey Wagman for Team Israel in 2021.

Van Ostrand played first base for Team Canada in the 2008 Seoul Olympics, going 4-for-15 at the plate for a .267 average, while Wagman pitched in two games for Team Israel at Tokyo in 2021.

Van Ostrand was 2-for-4 in Canada's 10-0 win over China, then went 1-for-3 with a double in a 7-6 loss to Cuba. He was used as a pinchhitter in Canada's 1-0 loss to South Korea as well as in a 5-4 setback against Team USA. Van Ostrand was 0-for-1 in both games.

Van Ostrand did not play in a 1-0 loss to Japan but went 1-for-3 with a walk while playing first base and left field in a 4-0 win over the Netherlands, snapping a four-game Team Canada losing streak. He singled to drive in a run in the eighth inning against the Netherlands.

Van Ostrand was named to the 24-man Team Canada roster in July 2008 due in large part to his performance in the seven-game roundrobin Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in Chinese Taipei in March. Van Ostrand hit .556 on 10-for-18 hitting, striking out just twice and walking three times. He drove in eight runs.

Van Ostrand was selected in the eighth round of the 2006 June Amateur Draft by Houston and played in the Astros' minor league system for a few years. He graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in kinesiology.

Wagman pitched in two games for Team Israel at the Tokyo Olympics. in the third inning en route to an 8-1 victory in Group B play at Yokohama Stadium, then made his second start of the Olympics against South Korea in the quarterfinals and gave up three runs and 10 hits over 3 2/3 innings in absorbing the loss in the 11-1 decision. Wagman struck out one and walked three..

In 2019 Wagman led the Israel National Baseball Team through four qualifying tournaments, successfully advancing to the Olympics for the first time in history.

The squad won qualifying tournaments in Bulgaria and Lithuania, finished in the top four in Germany and defeated top seeds Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Spain in Italy to win the tournament and become one of only six teams from around the world to qualify to play in the Tokyo Olympics.

Drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 17th round, Wagman earned 21 wins in five minor league seasons, compiling a 4.43 ERA. He also played on four independent teams, notching seven more wins.

In addition to his seven years of play in the minor and independent leagues, reaching as high as Double-A, Wagman has competed at some of the highest levels of professional and international baseball, including the 2017 World Baseball Classic for Team Israel. Ranked No. 41 in the world at the time, Israel beat No. 3 South Korea, No. 4 Chinese Taipei and No. 9 Netherlands in the first round, and then No. 5 Cuba in the second round before bowing out.

Wagman pitched for Cal Poly from 2010-13, setting the school record for wins in a season when he allowed one earned run and six hits over eight innings in a 9-2 win over San Diego in the opening round of the NCAA Los Angeles Regional at Jackie Robinson Stadium. His 13 wins in 2013 is a record that still stands while his 27 career wins is tied for No. 2.

Jimmy Van Ostrand played for Team Canada in 2008 Olympics at Seoul, Korea. He was an outfielder and first baseman at Cal Poly from 2005-06.