It was June 8, 2024, with the Westfield Starfires playing at the home of the Vermont Lake Monsters in Burlington. With two outs in the ninth inning, Westfield’s Ben Williams clubbed a double in front of a crowd of nearly 3,700 fans. Williams recalled that Lake Monsters pitcher Wyatt Cameron was throwing nearly 95 mph that day, and most of all, he remembers the crowd and the moment that was his first extra base hit in the FCBL.

Williams calls Hanover, New Hampshire, home, where his father is a professor at Dartmouth College. He grew up playing basketball, baseball, and picked up football in eighth grade. He did, however, prioritize baseball as his primary sport.

“I felt as though I spent too much time working on baseball in the offseason, so it would be foolish for me not to pursue that as my college sport,” said Williams.

Williams spent three of his years in high school at a collegiate preparatory school, Avon Old Farms in Avon, Connecticut, where he got experience playing with and against Division I high school prospects.

Williams earned first-team all-league and helped Avon Old Farms win two league championships in both 2023 and 2024. This drew the attention of many major conference programs, but for Williams, there was one choice that stood out: Boston College.

“Boston had always been my favorite city growing up, and the high level of academics and athletics contributed to my love for the school as well,” he noted. “When I got an offer to play baseball there, the decision was a no-brainer.”

After graduating from high school, Williams entered the FCBL playing for the Westfield Starfires. The program at Avon Old Farms has a strong connection with the Starfires. Three 2025 graduates from Avon Old Farms are now on the Starfires 2025 roster with Kacin Robinson, Owen Callaghan, and Connor Jernigan.

In his first season in the FCBL, Williams slashed a solid .286/.423/.381 across 21 at-bats and 13 games. His first hit came on June 1 in a victory over the Silver Knights.

Despite the solid start to his campaign, he needed to leave midseason as Boston College had its incoming freshmen report midway through the summer. Williams played his final games in 2024 on June 23 in a twin bill against Nashua. In game one of that doubleheader, Williams scored two runs and was 1-for-1 with a walk.

Williams then attended Boston College, studying political science.

“I have always had an interest in politics and history,” he noted. “I’m thinking I might want to be a lawyer someday if my baseball path doesn’t work out.”

During their 2025 campaign, the Eagles went 28-29 and 11-19 in ACC play, improving from a year ago, when they went 22-31 and 8-22. However, Williams redshirted and did not record any stats.

Down one year of college, Williams returned to the Starfires in the 2025 season, this time planning to play for a full year. To begin the season, the New Hampshirite has proven to be a catalyst, hitting .313 with a .542 OBP and a 1.105 OPS through seven games. He is the league leader with two triples, tied for the league lead with eight walks, and has four stolen bases on the year, good for second in the FCBL.

Williams notes that his speed is one of the strongest parts of his game.

“My speed is my greatest asset,” he said. “I can always be a threat to steal on the bases, and routine groundballs are never easy when I am running.”

Coming off a season in which the Starfires made the FCBL championship for the first time in program history, they are poised for another big season, and Williams acknowledges that.

“We have all the pieces to be the best team in the league and win a championship,” he said. “We have guys like Josh Frometa who have experience both at the college level and in this league, and our pitching staff is very good too.”

Williams, who comes from a hometown where not many Division I athletes are from, has a message to all young players looking to play baseball at the collegiate level.

“Make sure you work on all aspects of your game,” he says. “Being good at hitting alone won’t do it at the collegiate level. I think it is also important to be good at playing multiple positions because that will make you stand out and give coaches flexibility during games.”

With his speed, ability to get on base, and his winning attitude, Williams is poised for a tremendous season in a Starfires uniform this summer. One day into the future, his goal is to get drafted and he will do what he can to make his dreams a reality, starting with the Starfires in 2025.