The World Baseball Classic officially starts tomorrow, so I figured it would be helpful to give all of our followers a breakdown of the format and the rosters.
Tournament Format and Bracket Overview
The 2026 World Baseball Classic features 20 teams, divided into four pools (A–D) of five teams each.
Pool Play: March 5–11, 2026
Each team plays four round-robin games within its pool.Advancement: The top two teams from each pool move on.
Quarterfinals: March 13–14 (Houston and Miami)
Semifinals: March 15-16 (Miami)
Championship: March 17 (Miami, loanDepot Park)
From the quarterfinals on, the tournament becomes single elimination—one loss and you’re done.
The bracket is fixed:
Pools A and B feed one side of the bracket
Pools C and D feed the other
Pool A (San Juan) – Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, Panama, Colombia
Pool A is hosted in San Juan, Puerto Rico, giving the home team a boost from the local fans. This group also includes WBC veterans Cuba (a 2006 finalist), a strong Canadian squad, underdogs Panama, and qualifier Colombia.
Puerto Rico 🇵🇷
Puerto Rico 30-man roster:
* 3B – Nolan Arenado
* 3B – Darell Hernaiz
* 3B/1B – Emmanuel Rivera
* C – Martín Maldonado
* C – Christian Vázquez
* CF – Matthew Lugo
* LF – Willi Castro
* LF – Carlos Cortes
* LHP – Raymond Burgos
* LHP – Jovani Morán
* LHP – Eduardo Rivera
* LHP – Gabriel Rodríguez
* OF – MJ Meléndez
* OF – Bryan Torres
* RF – Heliot Ramos
* RF – Eddie Rosario
* RHP – Fernando Cruz
* RHP – José De León
* RHP – Edwin Díaz
* RHP – José Espada
* RHP – Rico Garcia
* RHP – Jorge López
* RHP – Seth Lugo
* RHP – Luis Quiñones
* RHP – Ángel Reyes
* RHP – Yacksel Ríos
* RHP – Elmer Rodríguez-Cruz
* RHP – Ricardo Vélez
* SS – Edwin Arroyo
* SS – Luis Vázquez
(Manager: Yadier Molina)
Cuba 🇨🇺
Cuba 30-man roster:
* 1B – Malcom Nuñez
* 1B – Yoel Yanqui
* 2B – Yiddi Cappe
* 3B – Yoán Moncada
* C – Omar Hernández
* C – Andrys Pérez
* IF – Ariel Martínez
* LHP – Naykel Cruz
* LHP – Daviel Hurtado
* LHP – Randy Martínez
* LHP – Liván Moinelo
* LHP – Darien Núñez
* LHP – Julio Robaina
* OF – Alfredo Despaigne
* OF – Yoelquis Guibert
* OF – Leonel Moa
* OF – Roel Santos
* RHP – Frank Álvarez
* RHP – Emmanuel Chapman
* RHP – Josimar Cousín
* RHP – Denny Larrondo
* RHP – Yoan López
* RHP – Raidel Martínez
* RHP – Yariel Rodríguez
* RHP – Osiel Rodríguez
* RHP – Luis Danys Morales (Luis D. Romero Jr.)
* RHP – Pedro Santos
* SS – Erisbel Arruebarruena
* SS – Alexei Ramírez
* SS – Alexander Vargas
(Manager: Germán Mesa)
Canada 🇨🇦
Canada 30-man roster:
* 1B – Josh Naylor
* 2B – Edouard Julien
* 3B – Matthew Davidson
* 3B – Abraham Toro
* C – Liam Hicks
* C – Bo Naylor
* LHP – Logan Allen
* LHP – Micah Ashman
* LHP – Antoine Jean
* LHP – Adam Macko
* LHP – James Paxton
* LHP – Matt Wilkinson
* LHP – Rob Zastryzny
* OF – Owen Caissie
* OF – Denzel Clarke
* OF – Tyler O’Neill
* OF – Jacob Robson
* RHP – Phillippe Aumont
* RHP – Jordan Balazovic
* RHP – Eric Cerantola
* RHP – Indigo Diaz
* RHP – Carter Loewen
* RHP – Cal Quantrill
* RHP – Noah Skirrow
* RHP – Michael Soroka
* RHP – Jameson Taillon
* SS – Adam Hall
* SS – Otto López
* UTL – Tyler Black
* UTL – Jared Young
(Manager: Ernie Whitt)
Panama 🇵🇦
Panama 30-man roster:
* 2B – Jonathan Araúz
* 2B – Edmundo Sosa
* 3B – Johan Camargo
* C – Miguel Amaya
* C – Leo Bernal
* C – Iván Herrera
* C/1B – Christian Bethancourt
* CF – Enrique Bradfield Jr.
* CF – Jhonny Santos
* IF – José Caballero
* LHP – Logan Allen
* LHP – Alberto Baldonado
* LHP – Miguel Cienfuegos
* LHP – James González
* LHP – Kenny Hernández
* LHP – Andy Otero
* OF – Allen Córdoba
* OF – José Ramos
* RHP – Dario Agrazal
* RHP – Jaime Barría
* RHP – Paolo Espino
* RHP – Jorge García
* RHP – Miguel Gómez
* RHP – Javy Guerra
* RHP – Ariel Jurado
* RHP – Humberto Mejía
* RHP – Abdiel Mendoza
* RHP – Erian Rodríguez
* SS – Leo Jiménez
* SS – Rubén Tejada
(Manager: Jose Mayorga)
Colombia 🇨🇴
Colombia 30-man roster:
* 1B – Reynaldo Rodríguez
* 1B – Donovan Solano
* 2B – Jordan Díaz
* 3B – Gio Urshela
* C – Jorge Alfaro
* C – Elias Díaz
* C – Carlos Martinez
* CF – Brayan Buelvas
* LHP – Adrián Almeida
* LHP – Rio Gomez
* LHP – Yapson Gómez
* LHP – José Quintana
* LHP – Reiver Sanmartín
* OF – Gustavo Campero
* OF – Jesús Marriaga
* OF – Harold Ramírez
* RHP – Elkin Alcalá
* RHP – Austin Bergner
* RHP – Danis Correa
* RHP – Nabil Crismatt
* RHP – Pedro García
* RHP – Tayron Guerrero
* RHP – David Palacios (Lorduy)
* RHP – Emerson Martínez
* RHP – Luis Patiño
* RHP – Jhon Romero
* RHP – Julio Teherán
* RHP – Guillermo Zuñiga
* SS – Michael Arroyo
* SS – Dayan Frías
(Manager: José Mosquera)
Pool B (Houston) – United States, Mexico, Italy, Great Britain, Brazil
Pool B plays out at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas, and features tournament favorites Team USA alongside a strong Mexico team, a much-improved Italy, plucky underdogs Great Britain, and Brazil. The USA and Mexico are the on-paper favorites, but Italy’s roster full of MLB talent makes this a very intriguing group.
United States 🇺🇸
USA 30-man roster:
* 1B – Paul Goldschmidt
* 1B – Bryce Harper
* 2B – Brice Turang
* 3B – Alex Bregman
* C – Cal Raleigh
* C – Will Smith
* CF – Byron Buxton
* CF – Pete Crow-Armstrong
* DH – Kyle Schwarber
* LF – Corbin Carroll
* LHP – Matt Boyd
* LHP – Garrett Cleavinger
* LHP – Clayton Kershaw
* LHP – Tarik Skubal
* LHP – Gabe Speier
* RF – Aaron Judge
* RHP – David Bednar
* RHP – Clay Holmes
* RHP – Griffin Jax
* RHP – Brad Keller
* RHP – Nolan McLean
* RHP – Mason Miller
* RHP – Joe Ryan
* RHP – Paul Skenes
* RHP – Michael Wacha
* RHP – Logan Webb
* RHP – Garrett Whitlock
* SS – Gunnar Henderson
* SS – Bobby Witt Jr.
* UTL – Ernie Clement
(Manager: Mark DeRosa)
Mexico 🇲🇽
Mexico 30-man roster:
* 1B – Joey Meneses
* 1B – Rowdy Tellez
* 2B – Jonathan Aranda
* 2B – Nick Gonzales
* 2B – Jared Serna
* 3B – Joey Ortiz
* 3B – Ramón Urías
* C – Alejandro Kirk
* C – Alexis Wilson
* CF – Jarren Duran
* CF – Alek Thomas
* LF – Randy Arozarena
* LHP – Alexander Armenta
* LHP – Brennan Bernardino
* LHP – Robert García
* LHP – Samy Natera Jr.
* OF – Julián Ornelas
* RF – Alejandro Osuna
* RHP – Javier Assad
* RHP – Taj Bradley
* RHP – Alex Carrillo
* RHP – Jesús Cruz
* RHP – Daniel Duarte
* RHP – Luis Gastelum
* RHP – Andrés Muñoz
* RHP – Gerardo Reyes
* RHP – José Urquidy
* RHP – Víctor Vodnik
* RHP – Taijuan Walker
* SS – Luis Urías
(Manager: Benji Gil)
Italy 🇮🇹
Italy 30-man roster:
* 1B – Vinnie Pasquantino
* 2B – Thomas Saggese
* 3B – Jon Berti
* 3B – Andrew Fischer
* 3B – Giaconino Lasaracina
* C – Camden Mineo
* C – Kyle Teel
* IF – Sam Antonacci
* IF – Zach Dezenzo
* LHP – Sam Aldegheri
* LHP – Joe La Sorsa
* OF – Jac Caglianone
* OF – Dominic Canzone
* OF – Jakob Marsee
* OF – Nick Morabito
* OF – Dante Nori
* RHP – Dan Altavilla
* RHP – Dylan DeLucia
* RHP – Alessandro Ercolani
* RHP – Matt Festa
* RHP – Gordon Graceffo
* RHP – Alek Jacob
* RHP – Michael Lorenzen
* RHP – Ron Marinaccio
* RHP – Kyle Nicolas
* RHP – Aaron Nola
* RHP – Adam Ottavino
* RHP – Gabriele Quattrini
* RHP – Greg Weissert
* UTL – Miles Mastrobuoni
(Manager: Francisco Cervelli)
Great Britain 🇬🇧
Great Britain 30-man roster:
* 1B – BJ Murray Jr.
* 2B – Jazz Chisholm Jr.
* 2B – Ivan Johnson
* 3B – Nate Eaton
* C – Willis Cresswell
* C – Harry Ford
* CF – Kristian Robinson
* LHP – Nick Wells
* OF – Justin Wylie
* RF – Matt Koperniak
* RF – Trayce Thompson
* RHP – Jack Anderson
* RHP – Brendan Beck
* RHP – Tristan Beck
* RHP – Donovan Benoit
* RHP – Chavez Fernander
* RHP – Gary Gill Hill
* RHP – Antonio Knowles
* RHP – Miles Langhorne
* RHP – Ryan Long
* RHP – Michael Petersen
* RHP – Jack Seppings
* RHP – Graham Spraker
* RHP – Najer (Nasher) Virgil Victor
* RHP – Tyler Viza
* RHP – Owen Wild
* RHP – Vance Worley
* SS – Lucius Fox
* SS – Ian Lewis Jr.
* SS – Nick Ward
(Manager: Brad Marcelino)
Brazil 🇧🇷
Brazil 30-man roster:
* 1B – Dante Bichette Jr.
* C – Gabriel Carmo
* C – Gabriel Gomes
* C – Enzo Hayashida
* C – Silva Silva
* CF – Gabriel Maciel
* IF – Vitor Ito
* IF – Felipe Koragi
* IF – Felipe Mizukosi
* IF – Tiago Nishiyama
* IF – Lucas Rojo
* LHP – Hugo Kanabushi
* LHP – Oscar Nakaoshi
* LHP – Enzo Sawayama
* LHP – Hector Villarroel
* OF – Osvaldo Carvalho
* OF – Victor Mascai
* OF – Lucas Ramirez
* RHP – Pietro Albanez
* RHP – Gabriel Barbosa
* RHP – Joseph Contreras
* RHP – Tiago da Silva
* RHP – Murilo Gouvea
* RHP – Pedro Lemos
* RHP – Tomas Lopez
* RHP – Daniel Missaki
* RHP – Eric Pardinho
* RHP – Rodrigo Takahashi
* RHP – Thyago Vieira
* SS – Leonardo Reginatto
(Manager: Yuichi Matsumoto)
Pool C (Tokyo) – Japan, South Korea, Australia, Chinese Taipei, Czech Republic
Pool C will be played at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, featuring the defending champions Japan, their rivals South Korea, and three qualifier teams: Australia, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), and Czech Republic. Japan is the clear favorite at home, but Korea has a strong squad aiming to challenge them. Meanwhile, Australia, Taipei, and Czechia all have experienced rosters and will battle for wins in what should be an exciting group.
Japan 🇯🇵
Japan 30-man roster:
* 1B – Munetaka Murakami
* 2B – Shugo Maki
* 3B – Kazuma Okamoto
* 3B – Teruaki Satō
* C – Yuhei Nakamura
* C – Seishirō Sakamoto
* C – Kenya Wakatsuki
* CF – Ukyo Shuto
* DH – Shohei Ohtani
* LF – Kensuke Kondō
* LF – Masataka Yoshida
* LHP – Yusei Kikuchi
* LHP – Yuki Matsui
* LHP – Hiroya Miyagi
* LHP – Ryuhei Sotani
* RF – Shota Morishita
* RF – Seiya Suzuki
* RHP – Daichi Ishii
* RHP – Hiromi Itō
* RHP – Kōki Kitayama
* RHP – Yuki Matsumoto
* RHP – Taisei Ōta
* RHP – Tomoyuki Sugano
* RHP – Kaima Taira
* RHP – Hiroto Takahashi
* RHP – Atsuki Taneichi
* RHP – Yoshinobu Yamamoto
* SS – Sōsuke Genda
* SS – Kaito Kozono
* UTL – Taisei Makihara
(Manager: Hirokazu Ibata )
South Korea 🇰🇷
Korea 30-man roster:
* 1B/3B – Bo Gyeong Moon
* 1B/3B – Si Hwan Roh
* 2B – Hyeseong Kim
* 2B – Min Jae Shin
* 2B – Shay Whitcomb
* 3B – Do Yeong Kim
* C – Jae Hoon Choi
* C – Dong Won Park
* CF – Jung-Hoo Lee
* CF – Hae Min Park
* LF – Jahmai Jones
* LF – Ja Wook Koo
* LF – Hyun Bin Moon
* LHP – Young Kyu Kim
* LHP – Hyun-Jin Ryu
* LHP – Ju Young Son
* LHP – Seung Ki Song
* RF – Hyun Min Ahn
* RHP – Dane Dunning
* RHP – Woo Suk Go
* RHP – Been Gwak
* RHP – Woo Joo Jeong
* RHP – Byeong Hyeon Jo
* RHP – Young Pyo Ko
* RHP – Kyung Eun Noh
* RHP – Riley O’Brien
* RHP – Yeong-Hyun Park
* RHP – Hyeong Jun So
* RHP – Tae In Won
* SS – Ju Won Kim
(Manager: Ji-Hyun Ryu)
Australia 🇦🇺
Australia 30-man roster:
* 1B – Rixon Wingrove
* 2B – Travis Bazzana
* C – Christopher Burke
* C – Mitch Edwards
* C – Alex Hall
* C – Robbie Perkins
* IF – Curtis Mead
* IF – Logan Wade
* LHP – Josh Hendrickson
* LHP – Jon Kennedy
* LHP – Cooper Morgan
* LHP – Jack O’Loughlin
* LHP – Blake Townsend
* LHP – Alex Wells
* LHP – Lachlan Wells
* OF – Tim Kennelly
* OF – Aaron Whitefield
* RF – Ulrich Bojarski
* RHP – Kieren Hall
* RHP – Ky Hampton
* RHP – Sam Holland
* RHP – Connor MacDonald
* RHP – Mitch Neunborn
* RHP – Warwick Saupold
* RHP – Todd Van Steensel
* RHP – Coen Wynne
* SS – George Callil
* SS – Jarryd Dale
* UTL – Max Durrington
* UTL – Robbie Glendinning
(Manager: Dave Nilsson)
Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) 🇹🇼
Chinese Taipei 30-man roster:
* 1B – Jonathon Long
* C – Chiang Shao-Hung
* C – Kungkuan Giljegiljaw
* C – Lin Chia-Cheng
* CF – Stuart Fairchild
* IF – Lee Hao-Yu (Hao-Yu Lee)
* IF – Wu Nien-Ting
* LHP – Chen Kuan-Yu
* LHP – Lin Yu-Min
* LHP – Wei-En Chen
* OF – Chen-Wei Chen
* OF – Chen Chieh-Hsien
* OF – Lin An-Ko
* RHP – Yi Chang (Chang Yi)
* RHP – Chen Po-Yu
* RHP – Cheng Hao-Chun
* RHP – Lin Ruei-Yang
* RHP – Hsu Jo-Hsi
* RHP – Hu Chih-Wei
* RHP – Lin Kai-Wei
* RHP – Lin Shih-Hsiang
* RHP – Sha Tzu-Chen
* RHP – Sun Yi-Lei
* RHP – Tseng Chun-Yue
* RHP – Chang Jun-Wei
* RHP – Zhuang Jun-Wei (Chen Jun-Wei)
* SS – Chang Yu-Cheng
* SS – Cheng Tsung-Che
* SS – Chiang Kun-Yu
* UTL – Lin Tzu-Wei
(Manager: Tseng Hao-Chu)
Czech Republic 🇨🇿
Czech Republic 30-man roster:
* 1B – Ryan Johnson
* 2B – Terrin Vavra
* C – Matouš Bubeník
* C – Martin Červenka
* C – Martin Zelenka
* IF – Martin Červinka (Mertin Cervinka)
* IF – Vojtěch Menšík
* IF – Martin Mužík
* IF – Jan Pospíšil
* IF – Milan Prokop
* LHP – Jeff Barto
* LHP – Tomáš Duffek
* LHP – Lukáš Ercoli
* LHP – Jan Novák
* OF – William Escala
* OF – Marek Křejcirík
* OF – Maximilan (Max) Přějda
* OF – Michal Šindelka
* RF – Marek Chlup
* RHP – Filip Čápka
* RHP – Lukáš Hlouch
* RHP – Filip Kolmann
* RHP – Michael Kovala
* RHP – Marek Minařík
* RHP – Tomáš Ondra
* RHP – Daniel Padyšák
* RHP – Ondřej Satoria
* RHP – Martin Schneider
* RHP – Ondřej Vránek (Ondřej Vank)
* RHP – Boris Večerek
(Manager: Pavel Chadim)
Pool D (Miami) – Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Netherlands, Israel, Nicaragua
Pool D in Miami is this tournament’s proverbial “Group of Death,” filled with talent-heavy teams Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Netherlands, plus a scrappy Israel squad and qualifier Nicaragua. The Dominican and Venezuelan teams are stacked with MLB All-Stars, while the Dutch and Israeli teams feature many MLB veterans as well. Nicaragua is the underdog but has a few MLB-level arms to compete. The Miami crowd (especially Dominican and Venezuelan fans) will make this an electric atmosphere.
Dominican Republic 🇩🇴
Dominican Republic 30-man roster:
* 1B – Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
* 1B – Carlos Santana
* 2B – Ketel Marte
* 3B – Junior Caminero
* 3B – Manny Machado
* C – Agustín Ramírez
* C – Austin Wells
* CF – Oneil Cruz
* CF – Julio Rodríguez
* CF – Johan Rojas
* LHP – Wandy Peralta
* LHP – Cristopher Sánchez
* LHP – Gregory Soto
* RF – Juan Soto
* RF – Fernando Tatis Jr.
* RHP – Sandy Alcántara
* RHP – Elvis Alvarado
* RHP – Brayan Bello
* RHP – Huascar Brazobán
* RHP – Seranthony Domínguez
* RHP – Camilo Doval
* RHP – Carlos Estévez
* RHP – Dennis Santana
* RHP – Luis Severino
* RHP – Edwin Uceta
* RHP – Abner Uribe
* RHP – Albert Abreu
* SS – Jeremy Peña
* SS – Geraldo Perdomo
* UTL – Amed Rosario
(Manager: Albert Pujols)
Venezuela 🇻🇪
Venezuela 30-man roster:
* 1B – Luis Arráez
* 1B – Willson Contreras
* 2B – Gleyber Torres
* 2B/SS – Andrés Giménez
* 3B – Maikel Garcia
* 3B – Eugenio Suárez
* C – William Contreras
* C – Salvador Perez
* CF – Jackson Chourio
* LHP – Enmanuel De Jesús
* LHP – Oddanier Mosqueda
* LHP – Eduardo Rodríguez
* LHP – Ricardo Sánchez
* LHP – Ranger Suárez
* LHP – Ángel Zerpa
* RF – Wilyer Abreu
* RF – Ronald Acuña Jr.
* RHP – Eduard Bazardo
* RHP – José Butto
* RHP – Yoendrys Gómez
* RHP – Carlos Guzmán
* RHP – Pablo López
* RHP – Andrés Machado
* RHP – Germán Márquez
* RHP – Keider Montero
* RHP – Daniel Palencia
* RHP – Antonio Senzatela
* SS – Ezequiel Tovar
* UTL – Javier Sanoja
(Manager: Omar López)
Netherlands (Kingdom of the Netherlands) 🇳🇱
Netherlands 30-man roster:
* 1B – Didi Gregorius
* 2B – Ozzie Albies
* 3B – Juremi Profar
* C – Hendrik Clementina
* C – Chadwick Tromp
* LF – Jurickson Profar
* LHP – Jamdrick Cornelia
* LHP – Ryjenteriri “Ryan” Merité
* OF – Dayson Croes
* OF – Druw Jones
* RHP – Jaydenn Estanista
* RHP – Wendell Floranus
* RHP – Arij Fransen
* RHP – Lars Huijer
* RHP – Kenley Jansen
* RHP – Antwone Kelly
* RHP – Jaitoine Kelly
* RHP – Kevin Kelly
* RHP – Shairon Martis
* RHP – Eric Mendez
* RHP – Justin Morales
* RHP – Shawndrick Oduber
* RHP – J.C. Sulbaran
* RHP – Derek West
* RHP – Dylan Wilson
* SS – Xander Bogaerts
* SS – Sharlon Schoop
* UTL – Ray-Patrick Didder
* UTL – Ceddanne Rafaela
* UTL – Delano Selassa
(Manager: Andruw Jones)
Israel 🇮🇱
Israel 30-man roster:
** CF – Harrison Bader*
1B – Matt Mervis*
1B – Spencer Horwitz*
2B – Zack Gelof* *
IF – Noah Mendlinger*
IF – Cole Carrigg*
IF – Assaf Lowengart*
IF – Benjamin Rosengard*
C – Garrett Stubbs*
C – C.J. Stubbs*
RHP – Dean Kremer*
RHP – Tommy Kahnle*
RHP – Matt Bowman*
RHP – Eli Morgan*
RHP – Robert Stock*
RHP – Zack Weiss*
RHP – Charlie Beilenson*
RHP – Josh Blum*
RHP – Harrison Cohen*
RHP – Daniel Federman*
RHP – Jordan Geber*
LHP – Rob Kaminsky*
RHP – Max Lazar*
RHP – Carlos Lequerica*
RHP – Josh Mallitz*
LHP – Ryan Prager*
RHP – Ben Simon*
OF – Troy Johnston*
OF – Zach Levenson*
OF – RJ Schreck*
(Manager: Brad Ausmus)
Nicaragua 🇳🇮
Nicaragua 30-man roster:
* 1B – Elian Rayo
* 1B – Emanuel Trujillo
* 2B – Brandon Leytón
* 3B – Cheslor Cuthbert
* 3B – Mark Vientos
* C – Melvin Novoa
* C – Ronald Rivera
* CF – Ismael Munguía
* CF – Cristhian Sandoval
* IF – Benjamin Alegría
* IF – José Orozco
* LF – Omar Mendoza
* LHP – Danilo Bermúdez
* LHP – Dilmer Mejía
* LHP – Oscar Rayo
* LHP – Carlos Teller
* OF – Chase Dawson
* OF – Juan Montes
* RHP – Kenword Bernardo Burton
* RHP – Stiven Cruz
* RHP – Osman Gutiérrez
* RHP – Duque Hebbert
* RHP – Ronald Medrano
* RHP – Ángel Obando
* RHP – JC Ramírez
* RHP – Erasmo Ramírez
* RHP – Carlos Rodríguez
* RHP – Bryan Torres
* SS – Jeter Downs
* SS – Freddy Zamora
(Manager: Dusty Baker Jr )