How the 2026 World Baseball Classic Is Taking Shape: Teams, Rosters, Dates, and More

The 2026 World Baseball Classic is less than a year away. Next March, 20 teams from around the world will face off in the sixth WBC tournament.

All the competing nations have now been confirmed, and the dates and venues have been set. However, the fun is just beginning. Details about which players will suit up for their countries are starting to come out, and there will only be more and more WBC news to follow as the tournament approaches.

As details continue to roll out, Just Baseball has you covered with everything you need to know about the 2026 World Baseball Classic, from the basics, like the dates and locations, to all the newest updates about which of your favorite players are participating. Let’s dive right in.

The Just Baseball staff will update this article regularly with the latest details about the 2026 WBC. Check back often to stay up-to-date!

Overview of the 2026 World Baseball Classic

The 2026 WBC will be held from March 5-17, 2026, with games taking place in Miami, Florida; Houston, Texas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Tokyo, Japan.

Twenty teams from five different continents will compete for international baseball glory on the game’s biggest stage. Samurai Japan will look to defend their title, while Team USA and Team Dominican Republic will look to get back on top. The other 17 contenders are seeking their first WBC championships.

Below, you can find full details about the schedule, venues, participants, and early favorites.

World Baseball Classic 2026: Schedule and Venues

The World Baseball Classic begins with pool play from March 5-11. Each five-team pool plays a round-robin mini-tournament in one of the four WBC host cities. After all five teams in each pool have played one game against every other team, the top two teams advance. That leaves eight teams remaining in the tournament.

The final three rounds of the WBC are made up of single-game knockout matches: the quarterfinals (March 13-14), semifinals (March 15-16), and finals (March 17).

Each of the four WBC host cities will host 10 games during pool play. Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico will host Pool A, Daikin Park in Houston, Texas will host Pool B, Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan will host Pool C, and loanDepot Park in Miami will host Pool D.

Daikin Park and loanDepot Park will also host the quarterfinals, while both the semifinals and finals will take place at loanDepot Park.

Pool Play

Pool	Date	Location
Pool A	Mar. 6-11, 2026	Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan
Pool B	Mar. 6-11, 2026	Daikin Park, Houston
Pool C	Mar. 5-10, 2026	Tokyo Dome, Tokyo
Pool D	Mar. 6-11, 2026	loanDepot Park, Miami

Knockout Rounds

Round	Date	Location
Quarterfinals: Pool A Runner-Up vs. Pool B Winner	Mar. 13, 2026	Daikin Park, Houston
Quarterfinals: Pool C Runner-Up vs. Pool D Winner	Mar. 13, 2026	loanDepot Park, Miami
Quarterfinals: Pool B Runner-Up vs. Pool A Winner	Mar. 14, 2026	Daikin Park, Houston
Quarterfinals: Pool D Runner-Up vs. Pool C Winner	Mar. 14, 2026	loanDepot Park, Miami
Semifinals	Mar. 15, 2026	loanDepot Park, Miami
Semifinals	Mar. 16, 2026	loanDepot Park, Miami
Finals	Mar. 17, 2026	loanDepot Park, Miami

World Baseball Classic Teams in 2026: The Full Lineup

Of the 20 countries competing in the 2026 WBC, 16 automatically qualified by finishing among the top four in their pool in the 2023 WBC. Those 16 countries are Japan, USA, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, Panama, Mexico, Italy, Great Britain, Australia, Czechia, Korea, Dominican Republic, Israel, Netherlands, Venezuela.

Four additional teams earned their spots via one of two qualifying tournaments that took place in February and March 2025. Those four teams are: Nicaragua, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, and Brazil. 

Below, you’ll find a breakdown of the four pools for the 2026 tournament:

2026 World Baseball Classic Teams

Pool A – San Juan	Pool B – Houston	Pool C – Tokyo	Pool D – Miami
Puerto Rico	United States	Japan	Venezuela
Cuba	Mexico	Australia	Dominican Republic
Canada	Italy	South Korea	Netherlands
Panama	Great Britain	Czechia	Israel
Colombia	Brazil	Chinese Taipei	Nicaragua

WBC 2026 Qualifiers: Who Made It?

Following two hard-fought qualifying tournaments featuring a total of eight teams, Nicaragua, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, and Brazil earned their spots in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Nicaragua won the first qualifying tournament, which took place from February 21-25 at Taipei Dome in Taipei, Taiwan. Chinese Taipei, one of the highest-ranked teams in the world, beat Spain 6-3 in the second-place playoff game to earn a WBC berth by the skin of their teeth. Meanwhile, Spain and South Africa went home empty-handed.

Colombia came out on top in the second qualifier, which was held from March 2-6 at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium in Tucson, Arizona, USA. Brazil beat Germany in an exciting second-place playoff, while China came in last place and failed to make the WBC for the first time in the tournament’s history.

Top Players to Watch in WBC 2026

Aaron Judge, OF – Team USA

Not only will Aaron Judge play in the 2026 WBC, but the two-time AL MVP has been confirmed as the captain for Team USA. It will be his first time playing in the tournament.

Mike Trout, Team USA’s captain in 2023, has expressed interest in playing alongside Judge, though he has not officially confirmed he will participate.

Francisco Lindor, SS – Team Puerto Rico

After competing for the Puerto Rican team in 2017, Francisco Lindor earned the captaincy in 2023. He will return in that role for the 2026 tournament and try to help his homeland get over the hump. Puerto Rico has finished runner-up twice but has never hoisted the WBC trophy.

Bo Bichette, SS – Team Brazil

Brazil is appearing in the WBC for the first time since 2013, and they’ll have at least one MLB star on their roster. Bo Bichette, who also played for Brazil during the 2017 qualifiers, has committed to playing in next year’s tournament.

More Stars To Watch

• Shohei Ohtani, Japan: Will Ohtani put on another heroic performance for Samurai Japan in 2026? He hasn’t been confirmed for the tournament yet, but he has expressed interest in playing.

• Fernando Tatis Jr., Dominican Republic: Fernando Tatis Sr. will be the hitting coach for the Dominican Republic in 2026. His son expects to be on the team. The younger Tatis made it clear that nothing is official yet, but that he fully plans to participate.

More WBC Players Confirmed

• Harrison Bader, Israel
• Seth Lugo, Puerto Rico
• Jose Quintana, Colombia

Favorites To Win the 2026 WBC

In 2023, Samurai Japan put on a dominant performance en route to their third World Baseball Classic victory. In thrilling fashion, Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout of Team USA for the final out of the championship game.

Next year, Japan will seek to defend its title, while the USA will seek revenge. There is little doubt that these two teams will be fierce competitors once again in 2026. Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic (WBC winners in 2013) will look to shake off last year’s disappointing first-round exit.

Japan, the USA, and the Dominican Republic are the only three countries to have won the World Baseball Classic, but they won’t be the only strong contenders in 2026. Some teams that could take home the trophy for the first time include Venezuela, South Korea, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Cuba.

If you’re looking for a dark horse to root for, I’d recommend the Netherlands. They currently rank seventh in the world according to the World Baseball Softball Confederation, and they made it to the semifinals in 2017. Major leaguers who could suit up for the Dutch team in 2026 include Xander Bogaerts and Kenley Jansen.