WBC Team Preview: The United States
The United States is fresh off a pair of gold medals in Olympic Hockey, each one in overtime thrillers, and now it’s the baseball team’s turn to try to bring home another title. The Americans have made consecutive WBC finals, winning their first title in 2017, but falling to Shohei Ohtani and the Japanese team in 2023. One of the biggest areas of concern for the Americans throughout the years has been their pitching staff, but that is not the case in 2026. Aces from across the league lined up to get their chance to put on the stars and stripes, with both 2025 Cy Young Award winners opting into the tournament, and baseball’s top pitching prospect following suit. To put the cherry on top, future first ballot Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw is on the American roster, adding his three Cy Youngs and an MVP.
Offensively, there are no holes in their lineup. Team USA will run out with six MVP awards in their lineup. Both the AL MVP winner and runner-up from last season will be starters for Mark DeRosa‘s team, possibly hitting back-to-back. The Americans are going all-in on their WBC run this year, and the players appear to be taking it very seriously. With easily their most talented roster ever for the tournament, can Team USA bring home their second-ever WBC title, and their second in three tournaments?
Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
Notable Players
With Team USA going all-in on their 2026 WBC run, the roster is loaded with notable players. Leading the charge are a handful of former MVPs: Judge and Bryce Harper, who figure to be regulars in the heart of the order. The reigning AL home run leader, Cal Raleigh, figures to see regular at-bats, along with the likes of Alex Bregman, Bobby Witt Jr., Kyle Schwarber, Roman Anthony, Gunnar Henderson, Byron Buxton, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Will Smith. DeRosa will have more than nine legitimately good bats to work with, along with the likes of Ernie Clement and Brice Turang off the bench.
In the rotation, there is a clear trio of starters to rely on: Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal and Logan Webb.. Other options made the roster as well, including Nolan McLean and Clay Holmes of the Mets, but the aforementioned starters are the safest bets to be starters for this team. Along with the two Mets, a few other starters are expected to see either bulk or bullpen work: Matthew Boyd, Michael Wacha, and Kershaw.
In the bullpen, the Americans have finally assembled a super bullpen, a task that had seemed impossible in years before. Mason Miller of the Padres figures to be their closer, and he’ll have some of the best setup men in the game before him. David Bednar, Griffin Jax, Garrett Whitlock, Brad Keller, and Gabe Speier are five of the better relievers in all of baseball and will man the back-end of the United States’ bullpen. With some American pitchers already sharing that they are on a start limit for the tournament, the bullpen could see a considerable amount of work, especially if more pitchers reveal they have a pitch count from their Major League team.
Notable Coaches
DeRosa is coaching his second tournament for the Americans, and his staff carries a mix of MLB coaches and legends. Matt Holliday, who briefly held a position on the Cardinals staff, will serve as the hitting coach, while Andy Pettitte will serve as the pitching coach. This is the same position Pettitte held in 2023, while Holliday is new to the staff. Among other carryovers are assistant coach Brian McCann, assistant coach Michael Young, and Dodgers’ third base coach Dino Abel.
New to his staff are hitting coach Sean Casey, assistant coach and former manager Fredi Gonzalez, bullpen coach and former manager David Ross, and first base coach George Lombard. Overall, DeRosa’s staff holds nine assistant coaches, four of whom were on his staff three seasons ago and five of whom are new.
WBC History
Team USA has appeared in all five WBC tournaments, winning one, finishing second once, and finishing in fourth place on two occasions. Neither the 2006 nor the 2013 teams made it to the final four of the tournament, making the past two tournaments the best two-tournament showing in the program’s history.
Only twice in WBC history has a team made the finals in two consecutive tournaments while winning at least one title: The Japanese team in the first two tournaments, and the Americans in the two most recent. An American win this year would put them in sole possession of second place in WBC tournament victories, and also make them only the second country to win multiple times (Team Japan has won thrice).
On player notes, only one American has ever won the MVP of the tournament: Former Met Marcus Stroman for the 2017 team. The MVP of the tournament has come from the winning country every time, meaning an American victory would likely secure a second American WBC MVP. Two Americans made the All-WBC Team in 2023: shortstop Trea Turner and outfielder Mike Trout. Overall, nine Americans have earned that honor, with David Wright being the only active Met to do so.
Pool
Team USA’s pool figures to be one of the easier in the tournament: Pool B. Pool B features the United States, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Italy. The American team is the overwhelming favorite to advance out of this group, and that might even be an understatement. The Mexican team figures to be competitive in this group, along with the Canadians, who have a solid group of young MLB talent and current Met Jared Young. Also of note, all of the games in Group B will take place in Houston, giving a geographic advantage to the US and Mexico teams.
For a ranking of all 20 teams by MMO, go to this page.
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