2026 World Baseball Classic

Last updated

2026 World Baseball Classic
WBC logo.svg
Tournament details
CountriesJapan
Puerto Rico
United States
DatesMarch 5–17, 2026
Teams20
←  2023

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]

Contents

Japan are the defending champions after they defeated the United States in the 2023 championship game. [3]

Teams

Qualification

16 teams qualified for the 2026 tournament by being in the top four of their pool in the 2023 tournament. Four 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, and their first major international tournament since the 1970 Amateur World Series.

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] The German Baseball and Softball Federation confirmed the dates of the Tucson pool on October 26. [8] [9] On November 12, 2024, WBCI officially announced the teams, format and schedule of the qualifiers, though with slightly different dates; the Taipei pool will run from February 21–25, and the Tucson pool from March 2-6. [10]

Qualified teams
RegionTeamQualification
method		Prev.
apps		Previous best resultWBSC World
Rankings1 [11]
Americas Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool C 3rd Place5Pool stage (2006, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2023)22
Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool A Winner5Runners-up (2006)10
Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool D 3rd Place5Champions (2013)11
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool C Winner5Third place (2023)4
Flag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua Qualifiers Pool A winner1Pool stage (2023)16
Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool A 4th Place3Pool stage (2006, 2009, 2023)8
Flag of Puerto Rico.svg  Puerto Rico 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool D Runner-Up5Runners-up (2013, 2017)9
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool C Runner-Up5Champions (2017)5
Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuela 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool D Winner5Fourth place (2009)3
Asia Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool B Winner5Champions (2006, 2009, 2023)1
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool B 3rd Place5Runners-up (2009)6
Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg  Chinese Taipei Qualifiers Pool A Second-place playoff Winner5Quarterfinals (2013)2
Europe Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool B 4th Place1Pool stage (2023)15
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool C 4th Place1Pool stage (2023)18
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool D 4th Place2Quarterfinals (2017)19
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool A Runner-Up5Quarterfinals (2013, 2023)14
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool A 3rd Place5Fourth place (2013, 2017)7
Oceania Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool B Runner-Up5Quarterfinals (2023)12

1 Ranking as of December 31st, 2024

Venues

The main tournament will be held in four stadiums. [12]

Pool APool B & QuarterfinalsPool CPool D, Quarterfinals, Semis and Championship
Flag of Puerto Rico.svg San Juan, Puerto Rico Flag of the United States.svg Houston, United States Flag of Japan.svg Tokyo, Japan Flag of the United States.svg Miami, United States
Hiram Bithorn Stadium Daikin Park Tokyo Dome LoanDepot Park
Capacity: 18,264Capacity: 41,168Capacity: 45,600Capacity: 36,742
Hiram Bithorn Stadium.jpg Minute Maid Park 2016-04-23.jpg Interior of Tokyo Dome 201904b.jpg MarlinPark.jpg

Draw

The pools and schedule were announced on August 21, 2024. [13]

Pool APool BPool CPool D
Flag of Puerto Rico.svg San Juan Flag of the United States.svg Houston Flag of Japan.svg Tokyo Flag of the United States.svg Miami
Flag of Puerto Rico.svg  Puerto Rico Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuela
Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
Flag of Panama.svg  Panama Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic Flag of Israel.svg  Israel
TBDTBDFlag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg  Chinese Taipei TBD

References

  1. ↑ "Classic will return in 2026, Commissioner confirms". MLB.com. March 21, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  2. ↑ Tokyo, San Juan, Houston and Miami announced as World Baseball Classic 2026 hosts
  3. ↑ "Japan tops Team USA in dramatic finish to claim 3rd Classic title". MLB.com. March 21, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  4. ↑ Clair, Michael (March 10, 2023). "No surprise here: Ohtani dominates on hill, at plate". MLB.com. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Tokyo, San Juan, Houston and Miami announced as World Baseball Classic 2026 hosts". MLB.com. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Cartagena busca ser subsede del Clásico Mundial de Béisbol en 2026" (in Spanish). Primer Tiempo. January 19, 2024. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  7. ↑ Francys Romero [@francysromeroFR] (September 24, 2024). "Pools for the WBC Qualifiers- 2025, per sources. It will be the first time with only 8 teams" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ↑ "Rahmenterminplan 2025 (Stand 26.10.2024) (PDF)" (PDF). Baseball-softball.de (in German). German Baseball Softball Federation.
  9. ↑ Jeff Duda [@INTLBaseball24] (November 2, 2024). "German baseball federation confirmed dates of WBC qualifier in Arizona as February 28-March 7. Official announcement should be very soon now. I'd guess early next week" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ↑ "World Baseball Classic Qualifiers announced". MLB.com. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  11. ↑ "WBSC Rankings - Men's baseball on 31/12/2024". World Baseball Softball Confederation . Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Tokyo, San Juan, Houston and Miami announced as World Baseball Classic 2026 host". MLB.com. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  13. ↑ "World Baseball Classic 2026 pools, dates announced". MLB.com. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
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