LONG BEACH, Calif.\u00a0\u2014 Multiple Long Beach State baseball alumni will represent their respective countries on the international stage as the 2026 World Baseball Classic begins this week, continuing the Dirtbags’ tradition of producing talent at the highest levels of the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 2026 World Baseball Classic opens Wednesday, March 4, with pool play beginning March 5 and running through March 17 across four host sites including Miami, Houston, San Juan and Tokyo. Both former Dirtbags will compete in Pool B for their respective national teams.<\/p>\n
Jarren Duran (2016-18) has been added to the\u00a0Mexico national baseball team\u00a0roster. During his time at Long Beach State, Duran etched his name into the program record books with the fourth-most stolen bases, eighth-most triples and ninth-most starts in school history. A two-time All-Big West selection, he was drafted in the seventh round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the\u00a0Boston Red Sox\u00a0and has since developed into a dynamic presence at the professional level. Team Mexico will play an exhibition game against the\u00a0Los Angeles Dodgers\u00a0before tournament action begins.<\/p>\n
Vance Worley (2006-08) has been named to the\u00a0Great Britain national baseball team\u00a0roster for the second consecutive World Baseball Classic, after also competing in 2023. During his three seasons with the\u00a0Philadelphia Phillies, Worley posted an 18-13 record with a 3.50 ERA across 53 appearances (46 starts), totaling 277.2 innings pitched with 238 strikeouts and a 1.351 WHIP. As a Dirtbag, Worley threw 230.2 innings in 47 appearances, recorded 12 wins and 145 strikeouts with a 3.98 ERA before being selected in the third round of the 2008 MLB Draft. Great Britain will tune up with an exhibition matchup against the\u00a0San Diego Padres\u00a0prior to pool play.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Chicago Cubs infield prospect Jonathon Long (2021-23) withdrew from participating for Chinese Taipei in the 2026 World Baseball Classic due to a left elbow injury. The 23-year-old, a 2023 ninth-round draft pick, was named the Cubs’ Minor League Player of the Year following a strong 2025 campaign.<\/p>\n
The championship game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic is scheduled for March 17 in Miami. Full tournament information, including schedules and pool breakdowns, is available at\u00a0MLB.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONG BEACH, Calif.\u00a0\u2014 Multiple Long Beach State baseball alumni will represent their respective countries on the international stage…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332930,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":["post-332929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332929\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}