Originally published in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, May 14, 2026 – https://www.telegram.com/story/sports/2026/05/14/whitinsville-christians-vander-baan-wins-first-pro-basketball-title/90076861007/
Justin Vander Baan’s Whitinsville Christian basketball teams piled up a lot of victories during his four years playing for the Crusaders, but until last week, the 7-footer had never won a major championship.
In his first season playing professionally in Europe, Vander Baan helped Boras Basket to the Swedish Basketligan title.
“That felt good,” Vander Baan said in a phone interview from his family’s home in Northbridge two days after returning to the U.S. “I was happy to win it for the older guys on the team who made it to the final the last three years but lost. I’m happy they finally got a championship and I’m very happy to win my first championship.”
Vander Baan starred collegiately at Lafayette, a Patriot League foe of Holy Cross, and dominated his senior season, ranking among the NCAA leaders in blocked shots and earning PL Defensive Player of the Year honors.
“The opportunity to be an important player at Lafayette set me up well to be a pro,” Vander Baan said. “Because of last year at Lafayette I thought, ‘I know I can do this.’ I went into Sweden the most confident I’ve probably ever been as a player.”
Soon after Vander Baan graduated from Lafayette in May 2025, his agent called him about the opportunity with Swedish Basketligan, which is the highest tier of Swedish basketball.
Vander Baan signed his rookie overseas contract in July and headed to Boras, known as a textile city and as the rainiest city in Sweden, in late August.
Vander Baan started most of the season and averaged 8.5 points and 7.9 rebounds.
“Last year at Lafayette we ran a motion offense,” Vander Baan said, “and in Sweden, and in Europe, they are big on set plays, so that was a big transition. I did the job on defense like I normally do, but my offense was up and down the entire year. I think I found a better flow toward the end of the year.”
Vander Baan, who averaged 24.2 points his senior season at Whitinsville Christian, was a three-star recruit coming out of high school. He began his college career at Boston College, but, after a coaching change, played limited minutes for the Eagles.
In three seasons at Lafayette, Vander Baan averaged 9.5 points and 5.1 rebounds.
Vander Baan ranks second-all time at Lafayette in career blocks with 191.
Vander Baan was the tallest player on his Boras Basket team.
Vander Baan enjoyed living in Boras, where English is widely spoken. He and his teammates ate Swedish meatballs at their Monday lunch spot and he got to explore some nearby countries.
He visited a former Lafayette teammate in Amsterdam and took a day trip to Copenhagen with his American Boras Basket teammate.
The sun sets at 3 p.m. in Boras in the winter.
“A couple months were rainy, grey and dark,” Vander Baan said, “but the last few weeks before I left were bright and sunny.”
Vander Baan’s parents, Jeffrey and Laurie, visited him at Christmas, and his brother Josh and his wife went over in February.
Now that Vander Baan is home, he’s going to take a few days off – “I had a lot of basketball the last nine months,” he said – and maybe play some golf before he returns to basketball training.
Like he does every year, Vander Baan is looking forward to helping out at Whitinsville Christian coach Brady Bajema’s summer camp.
Vander Baan plans to return to Europe next season to play.
“I’m not sure where,” he said. “I will talk to my agent in a few weeks and I hope to sign somewhere by July.
“(Playing in Sweden) was a great experience,” Vander Baan said. “It’s a great country and the team was awesome. There were some ups and downs for the team and personally through the season, but come the end of the season and the playoffs, we played well as a team and had a good amount of success in the finals.”
–Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JenTolandTG.