The sixth edition of the World Baseball Classic will be played in March 2026, three years after a thrilling 2023 finale between USA and Japan. That, of course, ended when Shohei Ohtani struck out then-Angels teammate Mike Trout. It was the most captivating moment of the baseball season, MLB postseason included. Hopefully we’re in for more of the same next spring.
The WBC expanded to 20 teams last time and the top four finishers in the four 2023 pools received an automatic berth into the 2026 WBC. Those 16 teams are Australia, Canada, Cuba, Czechia, Dominican Republic, Great Britain, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Panama, Puerto Rico, South Korea, United States, and Venezuela. Brazil, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, and Nicaragua earned the final four berths in qualifying tournaments during spring training 2025.
The pools for the 2026 WBC were finalized in April, with the U.S. in the same bracket as Mexico, Italy, Great Britain, and Brazil. The tournament opens with Pool C (Tokyo) on March 5. Pool A (Puerto Rico), Pool B (Houston), and Pool D (Miami) begin play the next day. The Championship Game is scheduled for Tuesday, March 17, at loanDepot Park in Miami, the same venue that hosted the 2023 WBC Championship Game. Long-time big leaguer and current MLB Network analyst Mark DeRosa will return as Team USA’s manager.
“Getting the chance to share the clubhouse and dugout with USA’s greatest staff and players was one of the highlights of my life,” DeRosa said in April. “I’m extremely grateful and fired up to get another opportunity to put USA across my chest come March.”
Japan went 7-0 and outscored their opponents 56-18 in their seven games en route to their third WBC title in 2023 (they also won in 2006 and 2009). The Dominican Republic won the 2013 WBC and USA won the 2017 tournament. Here now are the players who have already committed to suiting up for USA in the 2026 WBC. The roster is subject to change right up until it is announced officially.
Judge, the reigning two-time American League MVP, was announced as USA’s captain and the first player to commit to the club back in April. It will be his first time playing in the WBC. “I wanted to be there (in 2023). I was looking forward to this opportunity again,” the Yankees slugger said, noting he skipped the 2023 WBC because he had just been named New York’s captain and wanted to focus on that. This past season, Judge slugged 53 home runs and led baseball in batting average (.331), on-base percentage (.457), slugging percentage (.688), and WAR (9.7).
USA will have the reigning AL MVP in the lineup and the reigning National League Cy Young atop the rotation. Skenes, who pitched for Air Force before transferring to LSU, committed to USA in May. “If I ever get the chance to do this, I’m never saying no,” he said. With all due respect to Jake Peavy and Roger Clemens, who was nearing the end of his career in 2006, Skenes very well might be the best pitcher to ever suit up for USA in the WBC. He had a 1.97 ERA with 216 strikeouts in 187 ⅔ innings this season, and joined Doc Gooden as the only pitchers in history to win Rookie of the Year one year and Cy Young the next.
Bobby Baseball is returning to the WBC. Witt committed to USA in June and figures to their starting shortstop this time around. He was on the 2023 roster and was used primarily as a pinch-runner, going 1 for 2 with a double in his five appearances. “It’s a blast. These are the things you dream of,” Witt said about the 2023 WBC. Back then, he was heading into his sophomore season. This time around, Witt is a fully formed superstar. He authored a .295/.351/.501 slash line with 23 homers, 38 steals, and a league-leading 47 doubles in 2025. Witt finished fourth in the AL MVP voting and won his second straight Gold Glove.
USA will have a 60-homer man behind the plate next spring. Raleigh set a new single-season home run record for a catcher and a switch-hitter in 2025, and was the runner-up to Judge for AL MVP. It will be his first WBC experience. “I’m just very honored that they would pick me and I’m really looking forward to hopefully creating a memory and winning gold,” Raleigh said in July. He led MLB in homers (60) and RBI (125) this past season while slashing .247/.359/.589 and playing excellent defense at the game’s most demanding position.
Fresh off a 30-30 season, Crow-Armstrong and his Gold Glove defense will roam center field for USA in the WBC. His commitment to the event was confirmed in November. “I love playing for my country more than anything,” Crow-Armstrong said. PCA was a 6.0 WAR player in 2025 thanks to top of the line defense as well as his 31 homers and 35 steals. He joined Sammy Sosa as the only players in Cubs’ history to go 30-30 and finished ninth in the NL MVP voting.
USA’s outfield will feature three All-Stars and three top-9 finishers in the MVP voting. Carroll will join Crow-Armstrong and Judge on the roster, he announced in November. “It was not a hard decision. I couldn’t be more excited. It’s going to be awesome,” Carroll said. He led the league in triples for the third year in a row in 2025, and hit .259/.343/.541 with 31 home runs and 32 steals. It was Carroll’s first 30-30 season. He was an All-Star for the second time and he finished sixth in the NL MVP voting, his second time finishing that high (fifth in 2023).
One of the game’s top right-handed relievers will be in USA’s bullpen. Whitlock announced his commitment to USA on social media in November. It will be his first time playing in the tournament. After battling injuries and bouncing between the rotation and bullpen from 2022-24, Whitlock became a full-time reliever in 2025 and threw 72 innings with a 2.25 ERA and 91 strikeouts. He frequently worked multiple innings, which will come in handy in the early rounds of the WBC, when pitchers are held to strict pitch limits.
After battling injury and inconsistency for the first decade of his MLB career, Boyd busted out with his first All-Star berth in 2025 at age 34. He announced Wednesday on Foul Territory that he’ll be on Team USA for the WBC in 2026. Boyd returned from Tommy John surgery in 2024 with the Guardians and pitched to a 2.72 ERA in eight starts. It was good enough to earn a two-year, $29 million deal with an option for 2027 from the Cubs. In 2025, he went 14-8 with a 3.21 ERA and 154 strikeouts in 179 ⅔ innings. Upon his announcement, Boyd became the first left-handed pitcher on Team USA for this cycle and it seems pretty likely he’ll be in the rotation for the event.
Add Comment