The United States will face the likes of Mexico and Italy in Pool B at the 2026 World Baseball Classic — the pools and schedule having been released on Wednesday.
This will be the second time that the World Baseball Classic has a 20-team field which will play group-stage games between March 5-11 at loanDepot Park in Miami, Minute Maid Park in Houston, the Tokyo Dome in Japan, and Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Puerto Rico.
Sixteen of the 20 teams are already set for the tournament — the top four finishers in each of the four groups from the 2023 World Baseball Classic clinching their spot in the triannual competition.
The final four teams will be decided by the World Baseball Qualifiers, which will be held in 2025.
2026 World Baseball Classic Pools
Pool A: Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico (March 6-11)
- Puerto Rico
- Canada
- Cuba
- Panama
- Qualifier
Pool B: Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX (March 6-11)
- United States
- Mexico
- Italy
- Great Britain
- Qualifier
Pool C: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan (March 5-10)
- Japan
- Australia
- Czechia
- South Korea
- Qualifier
Pool D: loanDepot Park, Miami, FL (March 6-11)
- Dominican Republic
- Israel
- Netherlands
- Venezuela
- Qualifier
The top two teams in each group will advance to the quarterfinals, which begins the single-elimination knockout stage of the tournament.
Houston and Miami will host the quarterfinals on March 13-14.
The semifinals from March 15-16 and the championship game on March 17 will all take place at loanDepot Park in Miami.
