The 2026 World Baseball Classic is underway!

Over the next two weeks, many of the biggest stars on the planet will take the field under the bright lights of the international stage.

Which teams join the United States as favorites to win it all? Who are the top candidates to shock the world? And which superstars will shine brightest during this year’s event?

It’s time to break it all down with our WBC Power Rankings, contender tiers and keys to reigning supreme in 2026.

Tier I: The Superteam Trio

1. United States

Pool B | Title odds: -110

Most likely MVP: Bobby Witt Jr. was a 22-year-old pinch runner who got just two at-bats in the last edition of the WBC. Since then, he has won two Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers, finished within the top five in MVP voting twice and accumulated 24.4 FanGraphs wins above replacement, trailing only Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge. At 25, he might already be one of the three best players in the sport. And he is primed to shine in this tournament. — Alden Gonzalez

X factor: Nolan McLean is among the more surprising entrees into this tournament, because top pitching prospects hardly ever get involved. And the Mets’ 24-year-old right-hander will end up playing a major role. After a bout with vertigo, McLean is poised to start Tuesday against Italy. After that, U.S. manager Mark DeRosa said McLean would be lined up to take the mound for a potential championship game. Team USA officials are confident McLean’s explosive stuff will play against some of the world’s best. They’re about to find out. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: With a .600 winning percentage through the first five WBCs, the U.S. ranks just fifth in winning percentage, behind Japan, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Korea. Against those four teams plus Mexico and Cuba, the U.S. has gone 11-13. — David Schoenfield

The U.S. will win it all if … the pitching is as good as advertised. This is the best pitching staff Team USA has assembled for a WBC even though Tarik Skubal is making just one abbreviated start against overmatched Great Britain and Joe Ryan won’t be available until the knockout stage. With Paul Skenes, Skubal, Logan Webb and Ryan — if his sore back doesn’t keep him from participating — the U.S. has the best rotation in the tournament. McLean, Clay Holmes and Matthew Boyd offer depth. Mason Miller is the closer, and the bridge to him is sturdy. The lineup, with Aaron Judge in the middle, should score plenty. If the pitching performs, the Americans could go undefeated. — Jorge Castillo

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Judge: Team USA looking to carry Olympic hockey momentum into WBC

Aaron Judge joins Pat McAfee to explain how Team USA is looking to carry the momentum from Olympic hockey into the World Baseball Classic.

2. Dominican Republic

Pool D | Title odds: +400

Most likely MVP: Juan Soto. On a team of superstars, he is the alpha. In a lineup composed of some of the game’s best hitters, he is the greatest of all. Soto isn’t the captain, but he is the one who will set the tone for the Dominican Republic. Three years ago, Soto went 6-for-15 with five extra-base hits in the tournament, but the Dominican team did not advance beyond pool play. He will make sure that does not happen again. — Gonzalez

X factor: Cristopher Sanchez is competing in his first WBC, and he’s doing so coming off a dominant breakout season that saw him put up a 2.50 ERA, compile 202 regular-season innings and finish second in National League Cy Young voting. He is the ace of a Dominican pitching staff that looks a lot better than it did three years ago, and he needs to dominate in his two starts. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: The Dominican Republic won it all in 2013, going 8-0, one of two teams to go unbeaten throughout the tournament. (Japan went 7-0 in 2023.) Robinson Cano was the MVP of the tournament in 2013 and Fernando Rodney earned seven saves, but you no doubt remember the pitching hero in a 3-0 win over Puerto Rico in the championship: Yep, Samuel Deduno pitched five scoreless innings with Rodney eventually closing it out. — Schoenfield

The Dominican Republican will win it all if … the bullpen throws strikes. The lineup is arguably the best in the tournament. The rotation is strong even without Framber Valdez and Freddy Peralta (who both aren’t pitching in this year’s event). The relief corps is talented with plus stuff almost across the board, but walks could be a problem. Right-handers Seranthony Dominguez and Camilo Doval ranked in the bottom nine in walk rate among major league relievers last season. Huascar Brazoban and Wandy Peralta had 9.7% walk rates. Abner Uribe had a 9.1% walk rate. If they can command the strike zone, the Dominicans will rebound from their disastrous 2023 showing. If not, they won’t beat the tournament’s other top teams. — Castillo

3. Japan

Pool C | Title odds: +350

Most likely MVP: This is not complicated — it’s Shohei Ohtani, even if he will only hit in the WBC. Before coming out of the bullpen to strike out Mike Trout and win a championship in the 2023 WBC, Ohtani put up a 1.345 OPS in the tournament. His batting practice display in Japan recently made grown men act like children. No, Ohtani will not make an emergency pitching appearance, but he should do enough with the bat to lead Samurai Japan once again. — Gonzalez

X factor: Hiromi Itoh went 14-8 with a 2.52 ERA in 196⅔ innings for the Nippon-Ham Fighters and won the Sawamura Award as NPB’s best pitcher last year, an honor that Yoshinobu Yamamoto won three straight times. Yamamoto will join Itoh in this year’s rotation, but he might be limited given his workload last fall. Ohtani and Yu Darvish, meanwhile, won’t be pitching. And Itoh is the one who will have to step up. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: Masataka Yoshida drove in 13 runs in Japan’s 2023 title run — its third WBC title — the most in any single tournament. He’s on the roster again, but with Ohtani slated for the majority of the DH duties, Japan would have to deploy him in the outfield, where he has played just seven games the past two years with the Red Sox. — Schoenfield

Japan will win it all if … the starting rotation holds up without Ohtani, Darvish and Roki Sasaki. Ohtani is on the team as only a hitter. Sasaki chose to stay in camp with the Dodgers. Darvish is out for the season.

The Japanese rotation still ranks among the best in the tournament. Yamamoto is one of the world’s top pitchers. Itoh won the Sawamura Award — NPB’s Cy Young — last season. Yusei Kikuchi is a quality major league starter. But Japan lacks the depth from 2023. Tomoyuki Sugano, who had a 4.64 ERA in his first major league season, is expected to start a game. Tatsuya Imai could join the team in the knockout stage, but that’s not a guarantee. There’s also Yamamoto’s status. He’s coming off a herculean effort in October. Will the Dodgers allow him to assume a large workload in this tournament? Even if he does, will he be dominant? It would be difficult for Japan to repeat if he’s not. — Castillo

Tier II: Biggest threats

4. Venezuela

Pool D | Title odds: +900

Most likely MVP: Ronald Acuna Jr. is the biggest star on this team, of course, but Jackson Chourio should not be overlooked. In two major league seasons at ages 20 and 21, he has hit 42 homers, stolen 43 bases, put up a .781 OPS and accumulated 6.8 fWAR. He then played some winter ball in Venezuela this offseason, so he’ll be more than ready to face premier pitching in this tournament. — Gonzalez

X factor: Dominant left-handed reliever Jose Alvarado was unable to get insured for this tournament, so it looks as if it’ll be Eduard Bazardo setting up and Daniel Palencia closing games. Bazardo and Palencia are coming off strong seasons for the Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs, respectively, and give Venezuela the sort of one-two-punch late in games that it didn’t necessarily have in 2023. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: Venezuela is the best team to never reach a final, finishing third in 2009 as its best result. For the first time, it will be playing without Miguel Cabrera, who played at least one game in the first five WBCs. He’s serving as a hitting coach this year. — Schoenfield

Venezuela can go deep if … Acuña excels. For whatever reason, it seems as if Acuña is flying under the radar. The former NL MVP took his place among the premier, most exciting players in the world when he returned from injury last season. He was one of the few positives in a miserable season for Atlanta, batting .290 with 21 home runs and a .935 OPS in 95 games. His skill set and swagger can swing games — and tournaments. If Acuña can club a few home runs and steal a few bases, he’ll energize his team and electrify the crowd in Miami. With that, Venezuela could finally break through and reach its first final. — Castillo

5. Mexico

Pool B | Title odds: 22-1

Most likely MVP: Nobody embodies the spirit of the WBC better than Randy Arozarena, the Cuban-born outfielder who continues to represent the country where he established residency while on his path to the United States. Three years ago, Arozarena was the heart and soul for a Mexican team that went further than many expected, slashing .450/.607/.900 and capturing the attention of fans throughout the tournament. This is his stage. — Gonzalez

X factor: Team Mexico will probably have to slug its way through this tournament, so the X factors will be those who surround Arozarena in the lineup — namely, Alejandro Kirk, Jonathan Aranda, Rowdy Tellez, Alek Thomas and Jarren Duran. This is a better, deeper offensive unit than the 2023 edition. It needs to show that. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: Mexico is 3-1 against the U.S. in WBC history, losing 2-0 in pool play in 2006 but then knocking out the U.S. with a 2-1 victory in the second round as eight pitchers combined for a three-hitter. Mexico also won 5-2 in 2013 and 11-5 in 2023 as Joey Meneses hit two home runs. — Schoenfield

Mexico can go deep if … the pitching surprises. Mexico reached the semifinals in 2023 — and nearly toppled Japan — behind a sturdy starting rotation. That group looks very different this time. Julio Urias, the 2023 staff ace, is out of baseball after a second suspension for domestic violence. Jose Urquidy wasn’t given insurance. Taj Bradley would’ve been an important addition but decided not to participate. For now, the rotation features two confirmed starters: Taijuan Walker and Javier Assad. Mexico could opt for openers in its other two pool-play games. Regardless, a stout bullpen with Andres Munoz as closer must deliver for Mexico to make another run. — Castillo

6. Puerto Rico

Pool A | Title odds: 20-1

Most likely MVP: Some on the Giants have been raving about the work Heliot Ramos put in this offseason, believing he’s poised for a bounce-back year in 2026. Puerto Rico needs that resurgence to begin a little bit sooner, with the outfielder anchoring a lineup that has absorbed several key losses heading into this tournament. — Gonzalez

X factor: Three years ago, Edwin Diaz tore up his knee while celebrating an exhilarating victory over the Dominican Republic, a devastating blow on what was supposed to be a momentous night in Miami. His willingness to return — he called it an “easy yes,” given that Puerto Rico will host pool-play games — is a major boost to a team that has been defined by its absences. If Diaz is getting the ball in the ninth inning, Puerto Rico is in good shape. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: Runner-up in 2013 and 2017, Puerto Rico is an impressive 23-11 in WBC history. It was a perfect 7-0 going into the 2017 championship game but lost 8-0 to the U.S. — Schoenfield

Puerto Rico can go deep if … unheralded players emerge to help the lineup overcome significant absences. Puerto Rico’s position player group is not nearly as robust as expected without four mainstays: Star infielders Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa were not cleared for insurance. Javier Baez, an All-Star last season, was suspended for failing a drug test in 2023. Kiké Hernandez is still recovering from offseason elbow surgery.

The lineup is still solid without them. Nolan Arenado is a future Hall of Famer. Ramos and Willi Castro have been All-Stars. Eddie Rosario and Christian Vazquez have ample WBC and postseason experience. But others need to step up and deliver. Outfielders Bryan Torres, Carlos Cortes and Matthew Lugo, and infielders Edwin Arroyo, Darell Hernaiz and Luis Vázquez will be among the first-time participants given the opportunity. — Castillo

7. Korea

Pool C | Title odds: 65-1

Most likely MVP: Jung Hoo Lee and Hyeseong Kim are the major leaguers in Korea’s lineup, but keep an eye on Ahn Hyun-min, a 22-year-old who slashed .334/.448/.547 with 22 home runs in 112 games in the Korea Baseball Organization last year. He is already one of the KBO’s premier sluggers and has drawn the attention of major league scouts. — Gonzalez

X factor: Won Tae-in will anchor Korea’s rotation after posting a 3.24 ERA in a career-high 166⅔ innings for the Samsung Lions last year. He made three appearances for Korea in the 2023 WBC but gave up three runs in 4⅓ innings. He will need to produce a better showing this time. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: Korea reached the semifinals in 2006 and lost the 2009 title game to Japan but has failed to advance out of pool play three tournaments in a row, going 2-1 in 2013 (failing to advance on run differential), 1-2 in 2017 (losing to Israel and the Netherlands) and 2-2 in 2023. — Schoenfield

Korea can go deep if … the pitching rebounds from a dismal 2023 showing. Korea surrendered eight runs in an upset loss to Australia before giving up 13 to Japan in its first two games in 2023, which resulted in not advancing out of pool play for the third straight WBC.

Hyun Jin Ryu, who hasn’t pitched for his country since the 2009 WBC, is now headlining the pitching staff. But he’s 38. The Koreans need Dane Dunning and a group of KBO hurlers, including Ko Young-pyo, Son Ju-young, So Hyeong-jun and Jeong Woo-joo, to help avoid another disappointing showing. — Castillo

Tier III: Upset candidates

8. Canada

Pool A | Title odds: 50-1

Most likely MVP: Freddie Freeman isn’t suiting up this year, but Josh Naylor is, and he deserves our attention. Naylor made such an impression in Seattle down the stretch last season that the Mariners made re-signing him their top priority (which they did with a five-year, $92.5 million deal). He puts the ball in play, hits for power and has displayed an amazing knack for picking up stolen bases despite well below-average speed. In short, he’s perfect for a short tournament. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: Canada has never advanced out of pool play, coming closest in the inaugural tournament in 2006, when it went 2-1 but was eliminated on run differential. Canada beat the U.S. in one of the biggest shockers in WBC history that year. That team featured Jason Bay, Justin Morneau, Matt Stairs and Corey Koskie, but No. 9 hitter Adam Stern, who had 43 major league at-bats, was the hero with three hits and a home run. — Schoenfield

Canada can be this year’s surprise team if … the lineup slugs them to wins. With Puerto Rico hit hard by absences, Canada has the best lineup in Pool A even without Freeman, who suited up in 2023 but declined this time. The team will have major leaguers from 1 through 9 led by Naylor and Tyler O’Neill. Bo Naylor is one of the best catchers in the tournament, Denzel Clarke might be the best defensive center fielder in the world and outfield prospect Owen Caissie has real power.

The Canadians have a trio of solid starting pitchers in Jameson Taillon, Michael Soroka and Cal Quantrill, but Rob Zastryzny is their only reliever who appeared in a major league game last season. Ultimately, they’ll need the offense to carry them out of Pool A — the most competitive group in the tournament — and to the knockout stage for the first time. — Castillo

9. Italy

Pool B | Title odds: 80-1

Most likely MVP: We haven’t seen Jac Caglianone‘s true breakout potential in the major leagues just yet, but there’s a solid chance we’ll see it in this tournament. Perhaps spring training has provided an early indication. In his first 15 Cactus League at-bats, the Royals’ 23-year-old prodigious power hitter collected six hits, three of them for extra bases. One of his batted balls had a velocity of 120.2 mph, making him just the eighth player to reach 120 mph in Statcast’s 11-year history. Another, his lone home run, went 460 feet. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: Italy has won at least one game in each WBC, but it has never defeated any of the traditional powers, with its biggest victories being two wins over Mexico. Most of the players on this year’s squad have MLB experience, although there are two pitchers on the team actually from Italy in Claudio Scotti, who pitched briefly in the minors for the Mets, and Gabriele Quattrini. — Schoenfield

Italy can be this year’s surprise team if … the influx of major league players, especially pitchers, is enough to overtake Mexico for second place in Pool B. Italy advanced out of pool play in 2023 with a very different roster. That pool was played in Taiwan. This one will be played in Houston, which made it easier to convince Italian-American major leaguers to commit. Aaron Nola will be the best starting pitcher to ever suit up for Italy. The bullpen will be Italy’s best ever. The lineup, headlined by Vinnie Pasquantino and Caglianone, should have big leaguers 1 through 9. Italy is a true threat to advance to the quarterfinals. — Castillo

10. Cuba

Pool A | Title odds: 80-1

Most likely MVP: We’re going to go with a sentimental pick here. Alexei Ramirez will play in this tournament at 44 years old, 10 years removed from his last major league season. He played in the inaugural WBC in 2006, when he was just 26 years old, before he had even broken through with the White Sox. Soon, he’ll be the oldest player in WBC history. What does he have left? Who knows. But it would be cool to see him help Cuba make a surprising run. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: Cuba is 18-14 in WBC history, ranking fifth all time in wins behind Japan (30), Puerto Rico (23), the U.S. (21) and the Dominican Republic (20). It reached the 2023 semifinals, beating Australia in the quarterfinals before suffering a 14-2 blowout loss to the U.S. — Schoenfield

Cuba can be this year’s surprise team if … the pitching staff allows for low-scoring games. This team does not resemble the loaded Cuban rosters of yesteryear when the country excelled in international play, including a second-place finish in the inaugural 2006 WBC. A dry pipeline and political decisions have produced a position player group that is weak on paper. That’s how a 44-year-old Ramirez makes the roster.

As a result, Cuba needs the pitching staff to keep games close. Left-hander Liván Moinelo, one of the best starters in Nippon Professional Baseball, is coming off posting a 1.46 ERA across 24 starts in Japan. Right-hander Raidel Martínez is one of the best relievers in the world with a 1.62 ERA in eight NPB seasons and a league-leading 46 saves in 2025. It’s on the star duo to lead the way. — Castillo

11. Colombia

Pool A | Title odds: 80-1

Most likely MVP: Michael Arroyo is probably the best offensive player on this team. The 21-year-old second baseman ranked as the 62nd-best MLB prospect by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel going into 2026, and is coming off a season in which he posted an .834 OPS, hit 17 home runs and stole 12 bases in the Mariners’ High-A and Double-A affiliates. He has great contact skills, but he can also provide power. And Colombia will need plenty of both. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: This is Colombia’s third straight WBC appearance, having first made it in 2017 when it beat Canada and nearly had a monumental upset against the U.S., losing 3-2 in 10 innings. It nearly pulled off another upset of the U.S. in 2023, losing by the same 3-2 score. — Schoenfield

Colombia can be this year’s surprise team if … Jose Quintana handles business and the lineup exceeds expectations. Quintana, the best pitcher in Colombian baseball history, wasn’t on that 2023 team. A strong start from him in pool play is a must to make noise in this tournament.

Offensively, Colombia doesn’t have a player expected to make a major league Opening Day roster. Gio Urshela, who went 0-for-14 in 2023, is the most accomplished of the bunch. Arroyo — a 21-year-old top-100 prospect — has potential. Donovan Solano, Jorge Alfaro and Harold Ramirez are among the other recognizable names Colombia will need to produce. — Castillo

12. Netherlands

Pool D | Title odds: 100-1

One player to know: Ceddanne Rafaela is bound to turn in a few spectacular plays in center field in this tournament. The question, as always, is whether he will hit enough. If his spring with the Boston Red Sox is any indication — five hits, four of them for extra bases, in 13 at-bats — he will. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: The Netherlands has played above its station in previous WBC tournaments, knocking out a powerhouse Dominican team with a 2-1 victory in 2009 and then reaching the semifinals in 2013 and 2017. Pitcher Shairon Martis, who last appeared in the majors in 2013, is back for his fifth WBC, having pitched in 2006, 2013, 2017 and 2023. — Schoenfield

Netherlands can be this year’s surprise team if … the major league talent produces. Even after losing Jurickson Profar because of his recent PED suspension, Xander Bogaerts, Ozzie Albies and Rafaela headline a potent Netherlands lineup mostly featuring players from Curacao and Aruba.

The pitching staff is a different story. Closer Kenley Jansen is the only established major leaguer and 22-year-old Pirates prospect Antwone Kelly could reach the majors in 2026, but it’s an inexperienced pitching staff that will need the offense to record crooked numbers to beat the Dominican Republic or Venezuela. — Castillo

Tier IV: The long shots

13. Israel

Pool D | Title odds: 250-1

Most likely MVP: Harrison Bader is one of the game’s best defensive outfielders and proved last season that he can be more than a platoon bat, hitting 17 home runs with an adjusted OPS 17 percentage points above major league average. He was recently sidelined by a thumb bruise but should be good to go for this tournament. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: Israel made its WBC debut in 2017, surprisingly going 3-0 in pool play with wins over Korea, Chinese Taipei and the Netherlands. Israel was the first team that had reached the WBC via qualifying rounds to go undefeated in the first round of the main draw. It went 1-2 in the second round, beating Cuba but losing to the Netherlands and Japan. — Schoenfield

Israel’s WBC will be a success if … it upsets the Netherlands and beats Nicaragua to finish in third place in Pool D. Spencer Horwitz and Bader anchor a solid lineup that also includes Blue Jays minor league outfielder RJ Shreck, who posted an .854 OPS with 18 home runs across four levels last season. But the bullpen, which features big leaguers Tommy Kahnle, Matt Bowman and Max Lazar, is Israel’s biggest strength. — Castillo

14. Panama

Pool A | Title odds: 100-1

Most likely MVP: Jose Caballero is an elite defender with blazing speed — he has stolen a whopping 93 bases in 265 games over the past two seasons — and a propensity to draw walks. Down the stretch last year, while slashing .266/.372/.456 in 40 games for the Yankees, he also proved his bat can play. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: Panama is back for its fourth WBC appearance, having made it in 2006, 2009 and 2023. It went 2-2 in 2023, losing out on advancing because of run differential. Panama has a rich baseball history, with 81 major leaguers, including Hall of Famers Rod Carew and Mariano Rivera. — Schoenfield

Panama’s WBC will be a success if … it advances to the knockout stage. Logan Allen is Panama’s only pitcher on a big league 40-man roster and not having DH Ivan Herrera (insurance) hurts, but with Cabellero, Edmundo Sosa, Leo Jimenez, Miguel Amaya and Johan Camargo in the infield, the Panamanians have the position player group to advance from Pool A. — Castillo

15. Great Britain

Pool B | Title odds: 250-1

Most likely MVP: Jazz Chisholm Jr. is the best, most accomplished player on this roster, but catching prospect Harry Ford had a really good showing in the 2023 WBC at just 20 years old, going 4-for-13 with two homers. Now that he has been traded to the Washington Nationals and is no longer blocked by Cal Raleigh in Seattle, many are expecting this to be a big year for Ford. It might start early. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: Outfielder Matt Koperniak is the only player on the roster actually born in England — everyone else is from the U.S. or the Bahamas — although he grew up in Massachusetts. — Schoenfield

Great Britain’s WBC will be a success if … it wins two games in Pool B. Great Britain beat Colombia in the 2023 WBC and nearly posted a bigger upset against Mexico but lost 2-1. Another win three years later behind Chisholm and Ford would register as progress. Great Britain should handle Brazil. Toppling Mexico or Italy — let’s assume beating Team USA isn’t going to happen — is possible. Great Britain is already off to a decent start with slightly improved jerseys from its font-challenged threads of 2023. — Castillo

16. Chinese Taipei

Pool C | Title odds: 200-1

Most likely MVP: Chieh-Hsien Chen was the MVP of the 2024 WBSC Premier12, an international tournament in which he hit .625 and helped knock out Japan in the final. Now, after slashing .277/.357/.391 in the Chinese Professional Baseball League, the 32-year-old outfielder will captain Chinese Taipei in the WBC. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: Chinese Taipei has won 18 Little League World Series titles, although its victory in 2025 was its first since 1996. It has gone just 5-12 in WBC history. — Schoenfield

Chinese Taipei’s WBC will be a success if … it gets out of Pool C. Chinese Taipei participated in the first five WBC tournaments and has never advanced to the knockout rounds. Infielder Yu Chang is back after starring in 2023, going 7-for-16 with two home runs and eight RBIs and winning MVP in Pool A. This year, Chinese Taipei boasts several talented young players from farm systems across the minors, including Tigers prospect Hao-Yu Lee and Cubs prospect Jonathon Long, as well as ace right-hander Jo Hsi Hsu, who signed with NPB’s Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in December, to help it survive group play for the first time. — Castillo

Tier V: Just happy to be there

17. Australia

Pool C | Title odds: 250-1

One player to know: Travis Bazzana was the No. 1 pick in the 2024 MLB draft, then jumped three levels in the Cleveland Guardians‘ minor league system in 2025 and heads into this season as ESPN’s 23rd-ranked prospect. Nick Kurtz and Konnor Griffin have since absorbed most of the spotlight from Bazzana’s draft class, but the already-very-polished 23-year-old infielder can recapture some of the spotlight in this tournament. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: Australia has produced 34 big leaguers since infielder Craig Shipley reached the majors in 1986. The majority of those have been pitchers, but the best Australian ever was C/DH Dave Nilsson, who hit .284/.356/.461 in 837 major league games. Coming off his best season with the Brewers in 1999 with a .954 OPS, he wanted to play for the Australian Olympic team in 2000. After the Olympics, he was signed by the Red Sox but failed his physical because of a knee injury and never made it back to the majors. — Schoenfield

18. Nicaragua

Pool D | Title odds: 500-1

One player to know: Mark Vientos decided to honor his mother by playing for Nicaragua and will head into this tournament as its most talented player. The New York Mets thought they might have something special in Vientos when they watched him clobber 27 homers with an .837 OPS in 2024. That mark fell all the way to .702 last year, but Vientos is still only 26 years old. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: One of the top highlights of the 2023 tournament was Nicaragua’s 21-year-old reliever Duque Hebbert striking out Juan Soto, Julio Rodriguez and Rafael Devers — on three changeups — in the ninth inning of a first-round game and immediately agreeing to a deal with the Tigers. He reached Double-A in 2025. — Schoenfield

19. Brazil

Pool B | Title odds: 500-1

One player to know: Jose Contreras’ son Joseph is a 17-year-old right-hander who is committed to Vanderbilt and will pitch for Brazil in the WBC. Like his dad, Joseph is listed at 6-foot-4 and throws a forkball. He also has experienced some pretty big velocity jumps recently and could become a first-round pick in the MLB draft later this summer. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: Brazil has produced five major league players, with longtime catcher Yan Gomes the most famous. Outfielder Paulo Orlando played 278 games in the majors and is the hitting coach for the team, and former major leaguer Andre Rienzo is the pitching coach. — Schoenfield

20. Czechia

Pool C | Title odds: 500-1

One player to know: Martin Schneider is a man of two lives. In one, he is a firefighter in his hometown of Olomouc, a city of about 100,000 people. In another, he is a star pitcher and shortstop for the Czech Republic’s national baseball team. Schneider defeated Spain in the 2022 qualifiers to get Czechia into its first WBC the following year. Now, he’s coming back from shoulder surgery to pitch for his home country at age 40. — Gonzalez

A fact to impress your friends: Everyone’s favorite underdog, the Czech team uses few American-born imports, instead deploying a roster of real-life electricians and plumbers who play baseball on the side. In its first WBC in 2023, it beat China 8-5 when Martin Muzak hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the ninth inning. Muzak is back on the team, as is pitcher Ondrej Satoria, who struck out Shohei Ohtani on three pitches. — Schoenfield

With a head coaching career that reaches back to the 1970s and a run in media that kept him in the center of the college football spotlight for decades after his final game, Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz was one of the stewards who ushered the sport into its television era. 

The sports world is celebrating Holtz’s accomplishments after he passed this week — 249 career wins and a chorus of memories from former players and assistants who felt his impact across more than three decades as a head coach. Some stories will make you smile, like when Holtz broke two fingers trying to show Tim Brown how to catch a punt. Others that might be more inspirational or heartfelt — Holtz was an emotional coach who believed in the power of belief, the strength of faith and what a properly motivated team could accomplish. Those stories will continue to pour out from all corners of the country, adding to a celebration of his impact. 

As inspirational as those stories are, Holtz’s impact on college football goes far beyond game plans or motivational speeches. He was first the perfect face for Notre Dame as the television era exploded in the 1980s and 1990s, and then a one-of-a-kind voice that helped a regional sport go national in the 2000s. 

Holtz leads Notre Dame into its NBC era 

The Supreme Court ruling in NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma in 1984 is considered by many to be the starting point for modern college football — at least when it comes to the influence of television and media rights deals on the sport. The ability to sign media rights deals without going through the NCAA put more games on television for fans and generated more revenue for the schools and conferences. 

Unfortunately for Notre Dame, the program was not peaking in 1984. 

Lou Holtz is credited with doing a lot for Notre Dame, from big accomplishments like the 1988 national championship (the school’s most recent title) to inspiring a spirit of tradition and romanticism that includes the “Play Like A Champion Today” in the stairwell outside the home locker room in Notre Dame Stadium. But among the football-specific reflections of this week, Holtz has been credited with saving a proud title-winning program from the wilderness that was the early 1980s. 

After Ara Parseghian and Dan Devine combined to win three national championships and finish in the top-10 a dozen times in 17 years, the Fighting Irish lost their footing under Gerry Faust in the 1980s. The team never won more than seven games under Faust, and new faces were bursting onto the national scene with Penn State (1982) and Miami (1983) winning their first national championships in back-to-back years. Interest in college football was growing at a time when Notre Dame’s position in the sport was slipping. A 58-7 loss to Miami in 1985 marked the low point at the end of the tenure. 

But it did not take long for Lou Holtz to re-establish the Notre Dame standard, and quickly the Fighting Irish were the biggest draw in a sport that was seeing an explosion thanks to television. Holtz played the foil to Miami for the “Catholics vs. Convicts” rivalry, and his quotable quick wit and folksy charm were perfect for the new media landscape. 

Of course, the attention would not have been the same without the success. Holtz rode the momentum from an epic 31-30 win against Miami to a 12-0 season and national championship in 1988 — his third season on the job. The Fighting Irish backed it up with a 12-1 record the following season, with the only loss coming to Miami in the regular season finale. At his peak in South Bend, Holtz won double-digit games five times across six seasons (1988-93) and compiled a 64-9-1 record in that span. Notre Dame was a power player in college football once again, and Holtz was the face of the program. 

While Holtz was building on the field, Notre Dame prepared to make a landscape-shifting business move off the field. In 1990, the school announced a football television deal with NBC set to begin for the 1991 season. No longer at the mercy of getting selected for big national windows, Notre Dame could tell fans across the country exactly where they could find the Fighting Irish on TV, and the school has continued to profit from that media rights relationship to this very day. 

Notre Dame would not have held the same position in the TV marketplace at that time if the football team had not just come off 24 wins in two years, including a national championship and a runner-up finish in the AP Top 25 poll. That’s not to say that Notre Dame, with its coast-to-coast appeal and title-winning history, wouldn’t have wound up as an early prize winner in college football’s TV boom. But the success of the early years in Holtz’s tenure absolutely impacted the program’s momentum in this new era. 

That momentum continued with one of the television events of the decade in 1993 when No. 1 Florida State visited No. 2 Notre Dame in the “Game of the Century.” Never before had a regular-season contest drawn such nationwide appeal, and that audience (estimated at around 22 million) was unmatched until the College Football Playoff. When people of a certain generation talk about big regular-season games not feeling the same as they did in the pre-playoff era, they are imagining Lou Holtz celebrating a 31-24 win over Bobby Bowden in mid-November. 

The spectacle in South Bend was so large that it prompted ESPN to take its College GameDay show on the road for the road for its first time. Holtz’s role in one of the “big boom” moments for ESPN’s college football coverage is fitting, because it served as a preview for how the Hall of Fame coach would usher the sport through yet another explosion in popularity. 

Late Night with Lou 

Some fans are too young to remember much of Lou Holtz’s coaching career, but they do remember Lou Holtz the personality. After retiring at the end of the 2004 season as South Carolina’s head coach, Holtz moved into a studio position with ESPN. There, he became a respected voice of the sport on a network that had committed to being a home for college football throughout an entire fall Saturday. Some of the biggest games could be found on CBS, NBC, ABC or FOX throughout the day, but in the mid-2000s, college football fans could have a home base with a studio show that offered updating results, highlights and commentary from the first kickoff until the end of the night. 

And it was at the end of the night when Holtz formed a connection with a newer generation of college football fans.

Often working alongside Rece Davis and Mark May, Holtz took part in ESPN’s College Football Final. The show, taped live at the very end of the night with reruns occurring into Sunday, accurately captured the joyous, bleary-eyed experience of taking in a full day of college football. The 1980s and 1990s may have been the sport’s “glory days” for one generation of fan, but the explosion of cable and college football viewing options created an appreciation for what was happening outside of your region and the four biggest games of the day. 

Holtz was a tangential piece to the game-changing deal that put Notre Dame on NBC for every home game at the start of the 1990s, but not 20 years later, he was on TV after the conclusion of the Boise State-Hawai’i game to argue about the Heisman Trophy race while Rece Davis banged a gavel in a judge’s robe. 

College football history is littered with figures who fill different roles across the decades, but Lou Holtz truly is the face of the sport’s television explosion. He was the championship-winning coach as Notre Dame broke out on its own and college football leveled up in the national consciousness, and then he was the respected former coach filling the analyst position at a time when cable television was sparking another popularity boom. 

So celebrate the 249 wins and the national championship. Celebrate the impact he had on decades of players and coaches in the game. But also recognize that it takes a unique individual to connect with so many people across the decades. 

Notre Dame fans fell in love with the passion that Holtz had for Notre Dame, and college football fans were engaged by the motor and quick wit of this title-winning coach who was still pouring his energy into the sport well past his 70th birthday. To put it simply, Lou Holtz loved the game of college football, and it doesn’t matter the decade or the device — that’s an emotion that makes for great TV.