Last two tickets to World Baseball Classic 2026 up for grabs at Tucson Qualifier
World No. 20 China will take on No. 17 Germany at 1pm local time on Sunday, March 2, to open the second World Baseball Classic 2026 Qualifier at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium in Tucson, Arizona (USA). No. 13 Colombia and No. 23 Brazil will follow at 8pm local time.
The four teams will compete in a round-robin. The first-place finishers will advance directly to the World Baseball Classic 2026, and the second—and third-place teams will compete for the second spot in a one-game playoff on Thursday, March 6.
The full Schedule
Colombia is the clear favourite. Manager Josè Mosquera will count on plenty of Major League Baseball (MLB) experience in veteran left-hander José Quintana, right-hander Julio Teheran, infielder Gio Urshela, first baseman Harold Ramirez, catcher Jorge Alfaro and second baseman Dilson Herrera. The Colombian roster also has interesting prospects in infielders Michael Arroyo and Fabian Pertuz and outfielder Brayan Buelvas. Pertuz and Buelvas helped Mosquera to a WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup 2021 bronze medal.
It is hard to see a favourite for the second spot.
The core of Germany's pitching staff includes European baseball veterans Sven Schueller, Dalton Von Schamann and Markus Solbach. The three right-handers represented Europe at the 2024 Global Baseball Games. The most anticipated player on the roster is 23-year-old right-hander Jaden Agassi, the son of tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf. Veteran right-hander Nick Wittgren and Left-handed slugger Donald Lutz will provide MLB experience.
China will rely on the core of the pitching staff that led them to fourth place in the WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup 2024. Left-hander Zhao Wei allowed only two earned runs in 17 innings. Xiang Wang, also a lefty, started one game and earned a win and two saves in China's historic fourth-place campaign. He showed good form during the California Winter League. Left-hander Huadan Cairang and right-handers Jian Yi and Jie Zhou also pitched for manager Wei Li at the WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup. Left-hander Jeremy Wu-Yelland has started and relieved as Class A and A advanced for the Boston Red Sox.
Pitching looks like the strength of Brazil's roster. Right-hander Eric Pardinho reached Triple-A in his sixth professional season for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB), pitching 24 games as a reliever. Rodrigo Bo Takahashi, also a right-hander, pitched 33 games out of the bullpen for NPB's Seibu Lions. Veteran Tiago Da Silva will bring extended World Baseball Classic experience. He pitched in 2009, 2013 and 2017 for Italy. Da Silva, a veteran of the Mexican Baseball League, the Venezuelan Professional League and the Italian Baseball League, played for Europe at the Global Baseball Games. Right-hander Arthur Tsujiguchi plays college baseball in Japan and represented Brazil at the U-18 level. Leonardo Reginatto will be the player to watch. The 34-year-old veteran of 800 Minor League Baseball (MiLB) games in the US can play all infield positions and will likely start at shortstop.
The Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium can seat 11,000 fans. It is the centerpiece of the southern part of the Kino Sports Complex, the largest sports and entertainment venue in Southern Arizona. Originally built as a home for Major League Baseball Spring Training, Pima County invested millions of dollars from 2012 to transform the Complex into a premier multi-use complex suitable for various professional and amateur sports and cultural events.
No. 16 Nicaragua and No. 2 Chinese Taipei became the 17th and 18th qualified teams for the World Baseball Classic 2026. The 16 teams placed among the top four of the respective groups in the World Baseball Classic 2023 have already split into groups.
Tokyo, Japan, March 5 to 10, No. 1 Japan, No. 11 Australia, No. 15 Czechia, No. 6 Korea
San Juan, Puerto Rico, March 6 to 11, No. 9 Puerto Rico, No. 22 Canada, No. 10 Cuba, No. 8 Panama
Houston, Texas (USA), March 6 to 11, No. 5 USA, No. 18 Great Britain, No. 14 Italy, No. 4 Mexico
Miami, Florida (USA), March 6 to 11, No. 11 Dominican Republic, No. 19 Israel, No. 7 Netherlands, No. 3 Venezuela.
Houston and Miami will host the quarterfinals on March 13 and 14, respectively. Miami will host the championship round. The semifinals are scheduled for March 15 and 16, and the World Championship Final will be played on Tuesday, March 17.
World Baseball Classic Inc.. will assign each of the four winners of the 2025 Qualifiers to one of the groups.