2026 World Baseball Classic qualification


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.

Qualified teams

TeamWorld rankingMethod of qualificationClassic appearancePrevious best position
12th2023 World Baseball Classic pool stage top four6thQuarterfinals
22nd2023 World Baseball Classic pool stage top four6thPool stage
10th2023 World Baseball Classic pool stage top four6thRunners-up
15th2023 World Baseball Classic pool stage top four2ndPool stage
11th2023 World Baseball Classic pool stage top four6thChampions
18th2023 World Baseball Classic pool stage top four2ndPool stage
19th2023 World Baseball Classic pool stage top four3rdQuarterfinals
14th2023 World Baseball Classic pool stage top four6thQuarterfinals
1st2023 World Baseball Classic pool stage top four6thChampions
4th2023 World Baseball Classic pool stage top four6thThird place
7th2023 World Baseball Classic pool stage top four6thFourth place
8th2023 World Baseball Classic pool stage top four4thPool stage
9th2023 World Baseball Classic pool stage top four6thRunners-up
6th2023 World Baseball Classic pool stage top four6thRunners-up
5th2023 World Baseball Classic pool stage top four6thChampions
3rd2023 World Baseball Classic pool stage top four6thFourth place
16thPool A winner2ndPool stage
2ndPool A second-place playoff winner6thQuarterfinals
13thPool B winner3rdPool stage
23rdPool B second-place playoff winner2ndPool stage

Pools composition

[|Pool A][|Pool B]

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.

Pool A

Pool A took place at the Taipei Dome in Taipei, Taiwan, from February 21–25, 2025.

Pool B

Pool B took place at the Kino Sports Complex's Veterans Memorial Stadium in Tucson, Arizona, United States, on March 2–6, 2025.

Statistical leaders

* Minimum 2.7 plate appearances per team game
* Minimum 0.8 innings pitched per team game

Awards

While no official awards were given, MLB.com named 10 standout players from the qualifiers.
NamePositionNotes
Leonardo Reginatto3B5-for-13 with three doubles and four RBIs
Brandon LeytónIF6-for-13 with two doubles, a homer, and two RBIs.
Jesús MarriagaOF.500/.538/1.000 line with a home run, double, triple, and seven RBIs
Rusber EstradaCTwo home runs and seven RBIs
Ronald MedranoSPFive IP and eight strikeouts
Yu ChangSS7-for-18 with four doubles and a home run
Jo-Hsi HsuRPFive strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings of work
Julio TeheránSPNo hits in first five innings
Brayan BuelvasOF5-for-11 with a double, triple, four RBIs and a stolen base
Simon Baumgardt2BSix 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. MLB Network will also broadcast select games for all its covered areas.
Like the 2022 qualifiers, qualifiers and already qualified teams also have broadcast partners locally, as follows:
TerritoryRights holderRef.
Brazil
China
Colombia
GermanySportdigital
Latin America
Panama
South KoreaSpoTV
Sub-Saharan AfricaESPN Africa
Taiwan
United States
BahamasMLB Network
BonaireMLB Network
CanadaMLB Network
Cayman IslandsMLB Network
CuraçaoMLB Network
Puerto RicoMLB Network
US Virgin IslandsMLB Network
Sint MaartenMLB Network