Tournament details | |
---|---|
Countries | Japan Puerto Rico United States |
Dates | March 5–17, 2026 |
Teams | 20 |
The 2026 World Baseball Classic is an upcoming international professional baseball tournament, planned to be the sixth iteration of the World Baseball Classic (WBC). [1] The pool play rounds will be played in Miami, Florida; Houston, Texas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Tokyo, Japan. The quarterfinals will be split between Miami and Houston, and the final round will be played in Miami. [2]
Japan are the defending champions after they defeated the United States 3–2 in the 2023 championship game. [3]
16 teams qualified for the 2026 tournament by being in the top four of their pool in the 2023 tournament. 4 other participants will be determined through the qualifying tournament. [4] [5]
In January 2024, it was reported that WBCI officials were evaluating two stadiums in Colombia, Estadio Édgar Rentería in Barranquilla and Estadio Once de Noviembre in Cartagena, as potential hosts for the 2026 qualifiers. [6] If selected, it would have been the first time that Colombia hosted a World Baseball Classic-affiliated competition.
On September 24, 2024, Francys Romero reported that the qualifiers for the 2026 tournament would include 8 teams, downsizing from the 12 that participated in the 2023 qualifiers. Per Romero, the first pool will take place in Taipei from February 19-26, 2025, to include Chinese Taipei, Spain, Nicaragua, and South Africa; the second pool will take place in Tucson, Arizona from February 28 to March 7, 2025, to include Colombia, China, Brazil, Germany. [7]
Region | Team | Qualification method | Prev. apps | Previous best result | WBSC World Rankings [8] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Americas | Canada | 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool C 3rd Place | 5 | Pool stage (2006, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2023) | 16 |
Cuba | 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool A Winner | 5 | Runners-up (2006) | 8 | |
Dominican Republic | 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool D 3rd Place | 5 | Champions (2013) | 9 | |
Mexico | 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool C Winner | 5 | Third place (2023) | 2 | |
Panama | 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool A 4th Place | 3 | Pool stage (2006, 2009, 2023) | 10 | |
Puerto Rico | 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool D Runner-Up | 5 | Runners-up (2013, 2017) | 12 | |
United States | 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool C Runner-Up | 5 | Champions (2017) | 3 | |
Venezuela | 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool D Winner | 5 | Fourth place (2009) | 6 | |
Asia | Japan | 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool B Winner | 5 | Champions (2006, 2009, 2023) | 1 |
South Korea | 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool B 3rd Place | 5 | Runners-up (2009) | 4 | |
Europe | Czech Republic | 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool B 4th Place | 1 | Pool stage (2023) | 15 |
Great Britain | 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool C 4th Place | 1 | Pool stage (2023) | 18 | |
Israel | 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool D 4th Place | 2 | Quarterfinals (2017) | 19 | |
Italy | 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool A Runner-Up | 5 | Quarterfinals (2013, 2023) | 14 | |
Netherlands | 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool A 3rd Place | 5 | Fourth place (2013, 2017) | 7 | |
Oceania | Australia | 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool B Runner-Up | 5 | Quarterfinals (2023) | 11 |
The main tournament will be held in four stadiums. [9]
Pool A | Pool B & Quarterfinals | Pool C | Pool D, Quarterfinals, Semis and Championship | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
San Juan, Puerto Rico | Houston, United States | Tokyo, Japan | Miami, United States | ||||
Hiram Bithorn Stadium | Minute Maid Park | Tokyo Dome | LoanDepot Park | ||||
Capacity: 18,264 | Capacity: 41,168 | Capacity: 45,600 | Capacity: 36,742 | ||||
The pools and schedule was announced on August 21, 2024. [10]
Pool A | Pool B | Pool C | Pool D |
---|---|---|---|
San Juan | Houston | Tokyo | Miami |
Puerto Rico | United States | Japan | Venezuela |
Cuba | Mexico | Australia | Dominican Republic |
Canada | Italy | South Korea | Netherlands |
Panama | Great Britain | Czech Republic | Israel |
TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
Hiram Bithorn Stadium is a baseball park in San Juan, Puerto Rico, built in 1962 and designed by Puerto Rican architect Pedro Miranda. The stadium is home to the Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Puerto Rican Baseball League (LBPRC), and briefly was home to Major League Baseball's Montreal Expos during their final years.
The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic, is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the sport's global governing body, and organized in partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) and Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). The winning team is awarded the World Baseball Classic Championship Trophy. It is one of the two main senior baseball tournaments sanctioned by the WBSC, alongside the WBSC Premier12, but is the only one to grant the winner the title of "world champion".
The Japan national baseball team, also known as Samurai Japan (侍ジャパン), is the national team representing Japan in international baseball competitions. It won the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009, and 2023 as well as WBSC Premier12 in 2019. The team is currently ranked 1st in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation and is a baseball powerhouse.
The United States national baseball team, also known as Team USA represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 2nd in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The United States has won many international tournaments, many of which are now discontinued. Most notably the team won the Olympic baseball tournament in 2000, and the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in 2017.
The Netherlands national baseball team is the national baseball team of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, representing the country in international men's baseball. They are currently ranked as the best team in the WBSC Europe, and the team is also ranked seventh in the WBSC World Rankings.
The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on March 5 and finished March 23.
The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts were Seoul, Tokyo, Miami, and Zapopan. The second-round hosts were Tokyo and San Diego, and the championship round was played in Los Angeles.
The Israel National Baseball Team represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Ian Kinsler.
The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009.
World Baseball Classic qualification is the process that determines which nations will compete at the World Baseball Classic. Qualification takes place the year prior to the tournament, which itself is played every four years.
Team Israel has competed in the World Baseball Classic since the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifier round. In 2017 Israel competed at a World Baseball Classic qualifier for the second time, and for the first time qualified for the main tournament.
The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball tournament and the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It began on March 8, 2023, and ran until March 21.
Pool C of the First Round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic was held at Marlins Park, Miami, Florida, United States, from March 9 to 12, 2017, between Canada, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and the United States. Pool C was a round-robin tournament. Each team played the other three teams once, with the top two teams – the Dominican Republic and the United States – advancing to Pool F, one of two second-round pools. Manny Machado of the Dominican Republic was named MVP for the first-round Pool C bracket of the WBC, after batting .357.
The qualifying round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic was held from 16 September 2022 to 5 October 2022. Teams which participated at the 2017 World Baseball Classic automatically qualified for the 2023 tournament. The qualifying round consisted of two tournaments to be participated by six teams each. The qualifiers were planned to be hosted in Tucson, Arizona in the United States but after the delay, the qualifier hosts were changed to the cities of Regensburg, Germany at Armin-Wolf-Arena and Panamá City, Panama at Estadio Rod Carew. Winners and runners-up of each of the two tournaments qualified for the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 20 competing nations, held from March 8 to March 21, 2023. It was the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts cities were Taichung, Tokyo, Phoenix, and Miami. The second-round hosts were Miami and Tokyo, and the championship round was played in Miami.
The 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool A was the first of four pools of the 2023 World Baseball Classic that took place from March 8–12 at Taichung Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan. The top two teams automatically qualified for the top eight knockout stage, beginning with the quarterfinals in Tokyo and the remaining of the bracket in Miami. The teams in this pool consisted of hosts Chinese Taipei, Cuba, Italy, Netherlands, and Panama.
The 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool B was the second of four pools of the 2023 World Baseball Classic that took place from March 9–13 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. The top two teams automatically qualified for the top eight knockout stage, beginning with the quarterfinal in Tokyo and the remaining of the bracket in Miami.
The 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool C was the third of four pools of the 2023 World Baseball Classic that took place from March 11th-15th at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. The Pool C winner and runner up, Mexico and United States advanced to the Quarterfinals 2 round, as well as the Pool D winner and runner up. The Quarterfinals 2 round will be played March 17–18, 2023 in Miami. The teams in this pool consisted of Canada, Colombia, newcomer Great Britain, Mexico, and hosts and defending champions United States.
The 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool D was the fourth of four pools of the 2023 World Baseball Classic that took place from March 11 – 15 at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida. The top two teams automatically qualify for the top eight knockout stage, with the entire bottom half of the bracket in Miami. The teams in this pool consisted of Dominican Republic, Israel, newcomer Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.