Team USA is favored to win <\/a>this year\u2019s edition of the tournament after a second-place finish in 2023. Defending champion Japan\u2019s team has a bit weaker roster this time around, giving the Americans a bit less to worry about as they attempt to snag the title. <\/p>\nThe U.S. is placed in Pool B for group play along with Brazil, Great Britain, Mexico, and Italy. The team\u2019s schedule for the opening round follows.<\/p>\n
United States Pool B schedule in 2026 World Baseball Classic<\/p>\n
Team USA will kick things off on Friday, March 6, against Brazil. The U.S. will be the road team in that game, with first pitch coming at 8 p.m. ET and be broadcast on Fox. The Americans have Giants righty Logan Webb slated to start that game. Like all of the Pool B games, it will be held at Daikin Park in Houston. <\/p>\n
The U.S. will play host to Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Great Britain in Game 2 on Saturday, March 7. That game will also start at 8 p.m. ET and be broadcast on Fox. Tigers ace Tarik Skubal is scheduled to start that game for Team USA in what will be his only appearance of the tournament. <\/p>\n
After an off day, the United States will be the home team against Mexico on Monday, March 9. That game will also begin at 8 p.m ET and be broadcast on Fox. Reigning NL Cy Young winner and Pirates ace Paul Skenes is slated to start that game for the Americans. <\/p>\n
In the final game of group play, the U.S. will host Italy on Tuesday, March 10 at 9 p.m. ET on FS1. The team has yet to announce a starter for that game.<\/p>\n
Date<\/p>\n
Time<\/p>\n
Opponent<\/p>\n
Broadcast<\/p>\n
Friday, March 6<\/p>\n
8 p.m. ET<\/p>\n
at Brazil<\/p>\n
Fox<\/p>\n
Saturday, March 7<\/p>\n
8 p.m. ET<\/p>\n
Great Britain<\/p>\n
Fox<\/p>\n
Monday, March 9<\/p>\n
8 p.m. ET<\/p>\n
Mexico<\/p>\n
Fox<\/p>\n
Tuesday, March 10<\/p>\n
9 p.m. ET<\/p>\n
Italy<\/p>\n
FS1<\/p>\n
Team USA potential knockout round schedule<\/p>\n
If the U.S. wins Pool B as expected, it would face the runner-up from Pool A in the quarterfinals. That group features Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, Panama and Colombia. <\/p>\n
The matchup between Team USA and the second-place team from Pool A would take place on Friday March 13 at 8 p.m. ET at Daikin Park in Houston. It would be broadcast on Fox.<\/p>\n
If Team USA finishes second in Pool B, it would face the winner of Pool A. That game would take place on Saturday, March 14 at 3 p.m. ET, also at Daikin Park. FS1 would have the broadcast. <\/p>\n
If the U.S. happens to advance to the semifinal, the games will take place on Sunday, March 15 and 16, both at 8 p.m. ET at LoanDepot Park in Miami. FS1 would broadcast both of these games.<\/p>\n
Finally, if the United States advances to the championship game, it will happen on Tuesday, March 17, at 8 p.m. ET, also at LoanDepot Park in Miami. Fox has the broadcast.<\/p>\n
Team USA full roster of 2026 World Baseball Classic<\/p>\n
The United States is bringing its best roster ever to the World Baseball Classic. It is a group loaded with All-Stars. The full roster is below. <\/p>\n
CatchersCal Raleigh, MarinersWill Smith, DodgersInfieldersAlex Bregman, CubsErnie Clement, Blue JaysPaul Goldschmidt, YankeesBryce Harper, PhilliesGunnar Henderson, OriolesBrice Turang, BrewersBobby Witt Jr., RoyalsOutfieldersRoman Anthony, Red SoxByron Buxton, TwinsPete Crow-Armstrong, CubsAaron Judge, Yankees (Captain)Designated HitterPitchersDavid Bednar, YankeesMatthew Boyd, CubsGarrett Cleavinger, RaysClay Holmes, MetsGriffin Jax, RaysBrad Keller, PhilliesClayton Kershaw, RetiredNolan McLean, MetsMason Miller, PadresPaul Skenes, PiratesTarik Skubal, TigersGabe Speier, MarinersMichael Wacha, RoyalsLogan Webb, GiantsGarrett Whitlock, Red SoxRyan Yarbrough, YankeesTeam USA all-time results in World Baseball Classic<\/p>\n
Team USA has participated in all five previous editions of the World Baseball Classic but has only been to the finals twice and has just one championship. <\/p>\n
Below are the year-by-year results for the team.<\/p>\n
Team USA has advanced out of group play in each of the last four WBCs, but has had mixed results in the latter stages of the tournament.<\/p>\n
In 2006, the U.S. advanced from Pool B, with a 2-1 record, but in the second round of group play, the Americans went 1-2 and were eliminated after a 2-1 loss to Mexico. The format was considerably different back then, with two rounds of pool play before the top four teams reached the semifinals. Japan won the tournament.<\/p>\n
The 2009 tournament saw a format tweak with multiple brackets. The U.S. reached the semifinals but took a 9-4 defeat at the hands of Japan, which went on to win the tournament. <\/p>\n
With the same format present in 2013, Team USA reached the quarterfinals, but a 4-3 loss to Puerto Rico eliminated it from the competition. The Dominican Republic went on to defeat the Puerto Ricans in the championship game. <\/p>\n
In 2017, the format was changed again to feature two rounds of pool play with the top two teams in each group advancing in each round, before the top four faced off in an elimination bracket. The U.S. finished second in Pool C behind the Dominican Republic. In the next round of pool play, the Americans went 2-1, finishing behind Puerto Rico but advancing to the semifinal. Team USA beat Japan 2-1 in the semifinals and topped Puerto Rico 8-0 in the final to take home the title. Marcus Stroman was named MVP of the tournament. <\/p>\n
The 2023 edition settled on the current format, with four groups each featuring five teams. The top two teams in each pool advance to the knockout round. The U.S. went 3-1 in group play to take second-place in Pool C behind Mexico. The Americans then beat Venezuela 9-7 in the quarterfinals before topping Cuba 14-2 in the semis. Team USA then fell to Japan 3-2 in the final in a thriller. <\/p>\n
Year<\/p>\n
Result<\/p>\n
Record<\/p>\n
2006<\/p>\n
Eighth place<\/p>\n
3-3<\/p>\n
2009<\/p>\n
Third Place<\/p>\n
4-4<\/p>\n
2013<\/p>\n
Quarterfinals<\/p>\n
3-3<\/p>\n
2017<\/p>\n
Champions<\/p>\n
6-2<\/p>\n
2023<\/p>\n
Runners-up<\/p>\n
5-2<\/p>\n
The U.S. will be looking to win the title for the second time in 2026.<\/p>\n
More MLB on Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The United States kicks off its pursuit of a championship at the 2026 World Baseball Classic this weekend…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":521471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85],"class_list":["post-521470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=521470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/521471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=521470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=521470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=521470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}