2026 World Baseball Classic qualification
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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  Taiwan United States |
| Dates | February 21 – March 6, 2025[1] |
| Teams | 8 (from 4 confederations) |
The qualifying round of the 2026 World Baseball Classic, officially called the World Baseball Classic 2025 Qualifiers, was held from February 21 to March 6, 2025. The top four teams in each pool of the 2023 World Baseball Classic automatically qualified for the 2026 tournament. The qualifiers consisted of two tournaments with four teams each, and was held in Taipei, Taiwan, and Tucson, United States of America. Two teams of each tournament qualified for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.[1]
Note: World ranking indicates positions in the latest WBSC World Rankings (December 31, 2024) at the time of the announcement of the qualifiers.[2]
| Team | World ranking | Method of qualification | Classic appearance | Previous best position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia |
12th | 2023 World Baseball Classic pool stage top four | 6th | Quarterfinals (2023) |
 Canada |
22nd | 6th | Pool stage | |
 Cuba |
10th | 6th | Runners-up (2006) | |
 Czech Republic |
15th | 2nd | Pool stage | |
 Dominican Republic |
11th | 6th | Champions (2013) | |
 Great Britain |
18th | 2nd | Pool stage | |
 Israel |
19th | 3rd | Quarterfinals (2017) | |
 Italy |
14th | 6th | Quarterfinals (2013, 2023) | |
 Japan |
1st | 6th | Champions (2006, 2009, 2023) | |
 Mexico |
4th | 6th | Third place (2023) | |
 Netherlands |
7th | 6th | Fourth place (2013, 2017) | |
 Panama |
8th | 4th | Pool stage | |
 Puerto Rico |
9th | 6th | Runners-up (2013, 2017) | |
 South Korea |
6th | 6th | Runners-up (2009) | |
 United States |
5th | 6th | Champions (2017) | |
 Venezuela |
3rd | 6th | Fourth place (2009) | |
 Nicaragua |
16th | Pool A winner | 2nd | Pool stage |
 Chinese Taipei |
2nd | Pool A second-place playoff winner | 6th | Quarterfinals (2013) |
 Colombia |
13th | Pool B winner | 3rd | Pool stage |
 Brazil |
23rd | Pool B second-place playoff winner | 2nd | Pool stage |
Players
Venues
| Qualifier 1 | Qualifier 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Taipei, Taiwan |
Tucson, U.S. | ||
| Taipei Dome | Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium | ||
| Capacity: 40,000 | Capacity: 11,000 | ||
 |
 |
Pools composition
Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate positions in the latest WBSC World Rankings (December 31, 2024) at the time of the announcement of the qualifiers.[2]
| Pool A | Pool B |
|---|---|
| Chinese Taipei (2) (hosts) |
Colombia (13) |
| Nicaragua (16) |
 Germany (17) |
 Spain (24) |
 China (20) |
 South Africa (31) |
Brazil (23) |
The format consisted of two rounds. The first round was a round-robin, with the teams playing each other once. After the six games from each group, the first-placed team qualified for the final tournament, while the second and third-placed teams play in a seventh game where the winner also qualified.[1]
Pool A
Pool B
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Statistical leaders
| Batting leaders | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Statistic | Name | Total/Avg | |
| Batting average* | Dilson Herrera | .583 | |
| Hits | Po-Hsuan Wang | 8 | |
| Runs | Dante Bichette Jr. | 5 | |
| Runs batted in | Rusber Estrada Jesús Marriaga | 7 | |
| On-base percentage* | Po-Hsuan Wang | .632 | |
| Slugging percentage* | Jesús Marriaga | 1.000 | |
| OPS* | Jesús Marriaga | 1.538 | |
* Minimum 2.7 plate appearances per team game
| Pitching leaders | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Statistic | Name | Total/Avg | |
| ERA* | Adrián Almedia Yeudy García Jesús Garrido Pablo Guillén Dancaireng Hua Dilmer Mejía Julio Teherán Dylan Unsworth | 0.00 | |
| Innings pitched | Yeudy García | 7.0 | |
| Strikeouts | Ramón Rosso | 9 | |
* Minimum 0.8 innings pitched per team game
Awards
While no official awards were given, MLB.com named 10 standout players from the qualifiers.[4]
| Name | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Leonardo Reginatto |
3B | 5-for-13 with three doubles and four RBIs |
| Brandon Leytón |
IF | 6-for-13 with two doubles, a homer, and two RBIs. |
| Jesús Marriaga |
OF | .500/.538/1.000 line with a home run, double, triple, and seven RBIs |
| Rusber Estrada |
C | Two home runs and seven RBIs |
| Ronald Medrano |
SP | Five IP and eight strikeouts |
| Yu Chang |
SS | 7-for-18 with four doubles and a home run |
| Jo-Hsi Hsu |
RP | Five strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings of work |
| Julio Teherán |
SP | No hits in first five innings |
| Brayan Buelvas |
OF | 5-for-11 with a double, triple, four RBIs and a stolen base |
| Simon Baumgardt |
2B | Six hits, three walks, two RBIs and a stolen base |
Broadcast
On February 3, alongside the first pool roster reveals, it was announced that the 2025 WBC qualifiers would be shown on the WBC YouTube channel, WBC Facebook page, MLB.tv and WBC website (WorldBaseballClassic.com).[5] MLB Network will also broadcast select games for all its covered areas (including US).[6]
Like the 2022 qualifiers, qualifiers and already qualified teams also have broadcast partners locally, as follows:
| Territory | Rights holder(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | [7] | |
| China | [7] | |
| Colombia | [7] | |
| Germany | Sportdigital | [8] |
| Latin America (excluding Brazil) | [7] | |
| Panama |
|
[7] |
| South Korea | SpoTV | [7] |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | ESPN Africa[c] | [7] |
| Taiwan |
|
[9][10] |
| United States | [11] | |
| Bahamas | MLB Network | [6] |
| Bonaire | ||
| Canada | ||
| Cayman Islands | ||
| Curaçao | ||
| Puerto Rico | ||
| US Virgin Islands | ||
| Sint Maarten |