He grew up in Milford, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was a two-sport athlete at Milford High School.[citation needed] He has an older sister, Caroline, and a younger sister, Lyndsay.[citation needed]\n', '

Van Benschoten was a power-hitting star at Kent State University, leading all of Division I in home runs his junior year with 31. He also worked as the team\'s closer, however, and the Pittsburgh Pirates thought that he had more potential as a pitcher than as a hitter. They made him the eighth overall selection of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft, and announced that he would be a pitcher.\n', '

Van Benschoten performed well as a prospect. He pitched a scoreless inning in the 2003 All-Star Futures Game while a member of the Altoona Curve, and Baseball America named him the top prospect in the Pirates system in both 2003 and 2004.\n', '

Return to John Van Benschoten Autograph Profile