The Ostingers Baseball Academy (OBA), located in Lithia, recognized 12 area high school seniors who have signed to play college baseball at their banquet on November 18.
Brooks DeBartolo’s Ryan Bradarich (Nova Southeastern University), Armwood’s Tyler Castelli (Embry-Riddle University), Newsome’s Zach DeVito (Tulane University), Armwood’s Trevor Finan (Army), Durant’s Ahmad Fitts (Florida Southern College), Wesley Chapel’s Ethan Jones (University of West Virginia), Riverview’s Macallister Jorgensen (University of Tampa), Wharton’s Grady Maguire (Florida Southern College), Riverview’s Tyler Misla (College of Central Florida), Newsome’s Cole Stallings (Stetson University), Seffner Christian’s Tommy Turkett (Florida Southern College) and Bloomingdale’s Brock Wilken (Wake Forest University) all signed.
Catcher Tyler Castelli parlayed a tremendous junior season at Armwood where he hit .403 with four home runs and 21 RBIs into an offer from Embry-Riddle University.
“This is what you dream of,” said Castelli. “It’s what I wanted to do, and it makes me feel very happy that I can continue my career.”
OBA founder and instructor Jim Osting is proud of his players, but will miss coaching them.
“It’s slightly surreal just knowing that the guys are at the end of what OBA does,” he said. “It’s a bittersweet day, but it’s a happy day for me knowing that the guys have worked their tails off to get to where they are. Today’s just a great day for the program and it’s a great day for the kids and their families.”
According to the website, OBA offers individual lessons, team facility rentals/lessons and high-yield camps year-round. The OBA facility offers both indoor and outdoor cages, an outdoor infield and pitching mounds for bullpen work. Players should expect a balance of instruction on topics ranging from pitching, stretching, throwing, hitting, fielding mechanics, mental aspects of the game as well as preventative injury training.
Beyond individual lessons, OBA frequently offers player position workshops with visiting professional players, conditioning/strengthening programs for cross-training and elite travel ball teams for those players ready for a more advanced level of competition.
“The biggest thing that I’m going to miss about these guys is just how they compete,” said Osting. “It didn’t matter who we played, it didn’t matter what time of the day it was, didn’t matter what day of the week it was, they went out and just competed all the time.”
For more information, visit the website at www.OstingBaseball.com.
