World Baseball Classic Brings Upsets in Pools

When it comes to the sport of baseball, nothing is more important to these players than playing for their home country. Every four years, teams from all around the world come together and play in a tournament called the World Baseball Classic. Started in 2006 and now in its sixth installment, the 2026 WBC was the most anticipated yet. 

Teams in the tournament were divided into four pools: A, B, C, and D, initially competing in a round-robin tournament. The top two teams in each pool moved to the quarterfinals: a single elimination knockout phase. The tournament then had semifinal games that led to a victor crowned in the final game. 

16 teams were guaranteed a spot from the results of the 2023 tournament, while the remaining four spots were filled in the 2025 WBC Qualifiers. 

The tournament wrapped up Tuesday, March 17. Let’s review each pool and discuss the teams participating in the WBC. 

Pool A 

Pool A was the weakest pool of them all, with Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, Panama, and Colombia. Most of the teams in this pool did not have a lot of MLB experience or superstar power like the others.

Both Puerto Rico and Cuba had solid rosters in the past, but the players were not as strong this year. Nolan Arenado and Edwin Diaz were the stars of Puerto Rico’s team. Alexei Ramírez highlighted Cuba’s roster, despite being the oldest player in the tournament. 

For Canada, Tyler O’Neill and Jameson Taillon stuck out, and won the pool before eventually losing to the USA in quarterfinals. For Panama, Miguel Amaya and Logan Allen were the bright players on the team. For Colombia, it was captain José Quintana’s scoreless pitching and Gio Urshela’s solid defense. 

Pool B

Pool B had teams like Brazil, Great Britain, Italy, Mexico, and the United States. This, I believe, was the second strongest pool of them all. 

Brazil had names like Lucas Ramirez and Dante Bichette Jr. on their roster, but they had little to no MLB experience and finished last in this pool. Great Britain had names like Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Harry Ford. They were better than Brazil, but not by much, and finished fourth. 

Italy was a surprise team for me, with players like Aaron Nola and Vinnie Pasquantino leading the team. They were able to beat Mexico, even with star batter Randy Arozarena and pitcher Javier Assad lining their roster. While both teams were fairly even, the battle was ultimately won by Italy, with a 9-1 final score. 

Team USA was definitely the most talented and rounded roster in this tournament, with Bobby Witt Jr. and Aaron Judge being some of the names on this insane roster. The team suffered a surprise loss to Italy, finishing second in their pool.

Pool C

Pool C had the Czech Republic, Chinese Taipei, Australia, Korea, and Japan. 

Starting with the Czech Republic, Ondřej Satoria, who is well known for striking out superstar Shohei Ohtani in the 2023 WBC, was the big name for this team. However, they finished last in the pool as they have zero MLB experience, and talent-wise were one of the worst in the WBC. 

Chinese Taipei had Stuart Fairchild highlighting their roster. But, the team just did not have enough talent and came in fourth in the pool, finishing 2-2. 

Australia had second baseman Travis Bazzana, one of the top prospects in the MLB. They had solid pitching depth, and put up a fight with Japan and Korea. 

Korea was a top team, with former MLB All-Star Hyun-Jin Ryu and star OF for the Giants Jung Hoo Lee. They had the star power to move on to the next round, but their luck fell short against the Dominican Republic. 

Japan was out of this world in Pool C, with some of the best players of all time, Shohei Ohtani and the World Series MVP, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They looked to take their third WBC title this year, but lost to Venezuela in the semifinals.

Pool D

Last but far from least was Pool D–arguably the best Pool in the WBC, with teams Nicaragua, Israel, the Netherlands, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic.

Coming in last in this pool was Nicaragua, with names like former top prospect Jeter Downs and third-baseman Mark Vientos. But, the team lacked MLB experience and pitching depth, and came in last for Pool D. 

Israel had Gold Glove winner Harrison Bader in the OF and promising star for the Pirates Spencer Horwitz, and finished third. They had their best roster yet for the WBC, but other teams were better.

The Netherlands, with MLB star names Xander Bogaerts and Ozzie Albies, surprisingly finished fourth, with a 1-3 record. 

Venezuela finished second in the pool, with superstars like Ronald Acuña Jr. and William Contreras. They were the second-best team in this pool and easily moved on to the semifinals, where they upset Japan. 

The best team by far was the Dominican Republic, with players like Juan Soto and Ketel Marte on their roster giving them the hitting and pitching needed for a deep run. 

Overall, with all the talent and big names, this was easily one of the best WBCs I have ever witnessed. It brings so many players from around the world to one stage for everyone to witness and see how much talent each country has to offer.