How the 2026 World Baseball Classic Is Taking Shape: Teams, Rosters, Dates, and More
Just Baseball has you covered as details continue to roll in about the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
The 2026 World Baseball Classic is only a month away. In March, 20 teams from around the world will face off in the sixth WBC tournament.
All the competing nations have long been confirmed, and the dates and venues have been set. However, the fun is just getting started. Tonight, the official rosters were revealed for every country. No more tracking reported commitments and possible interest – now we actually know who’s going to be playing.
In the lead-up to all the excitement, 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
Update (Feb. 12): The complete US broadcast schedule (including game times) was released this morning. Here’s when and where you can watch every game in the WBC:
Original section: 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, the USA, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, Panama, Mexico, Italy, Great Britain, Australia, Czechia, Korea, Dominican Republic, Israel, Netherlands, and 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.
Who Is Playing in the WBC: Complete Rosters
Just Baseball will publish a detailed breakdown of all 20 rosters in the coming weeks. Those articles will be added to this master list as they are released.
Australia
Brazil
Canada
Colombia
Chinese Taipei
Cuba
Czech Republic
Dominican Republic
Great Britain
Israel
Italy
Japan
Mexico
Netherlands
Nicaragua
Panama
Puerto Rico
South Korea
United States
Venezuela
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.
This 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 Mexico, Venezuela, South Korea, and Puerto Rico.
If you’re looking for a dark horse to root for, how about Canada? They currently rank 20th in the world according to the World Baseball Softball Confederation, and they’ve never made it past the first round of the WBC before.
However, plenty of major leaguers have committed to play for the Great White North in this year’s tournament, and there’s a path for Canada to finish top two in Pool A.
Written by
Leo Morgenstern is one of the managing editors for Just Baseball. He is also the managing editor at Jays Centre. His writing has appeared all over…