The 2026 World Baseball Classic is underway and Team USA is cruising. Aaron Judge and Paul Skenes led the Americans over Mexico Monday night. Team USA is now 3-0 in pool play after lopsided wins over Brazil and Great Britain. Mark DeRosa’s club has put together its most star-studded roster in the history of the tournament, led by Judge and highlighted by stars including Cal Raleigh, Bobby Witt Jr., Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and more. The rotation, meanwhile, is headlined by Skenes and Tarik Skubal.
Will that be enough to take down the defending champions? Team Japan is now 3-0 in the tournament and through to the quarterfinals after earning them the top seed in Pool C and an automatic bid to the quarterfinals. Korea earned the other quarterfinal spot from Pool C, defeating Australia on Monday to earn the tiebreaker and advance. Puerto Rico, meanwhile, advanced with a win over Cuba Monday night.
History was made Saturday with the first two walk-off home runs in World Baseball Classic history. First, it was Ozzie Albies who went deep to push the Netherlands past Nicaragua in thrilling — and heartbreaking — fashion. Albies goes in the record books for the WBC’s first walk-off home run, but he was quickly joined by Darell Hernaiz, whose 10th-inning blast gave Puerto Rico a 4-3 win over Panama.
Team USA, Japan and the Dominican Republic — with a powerful lineup that features Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. among other stars — are considered the favorites to win the tournament. The D.R., Puerto Rico, Mexico and Italy all joined the U.S. and Japan as unbeaten teams entering play on Monday.
World Baseball Classic Power Rankings: Team USA boasts loaded squad; Dominican Republic, Japan bulk up
Matt Snyder
The 20-team tournament is running from March 5-17 at four locations: Miami; Houston; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Tokyo. The Championship Game will be played on March 17 at loanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins. Pool play is a round robin double-elimination tournament. The top two teams in Pools A and B will meet in the quarterfinals in Houston, while the top two teams in Pools C and D will meet in the quarterfinals in Miami. The semifinals and finals will again be played in Miami. After pool play, the rest of the tournament is single elimination.
All 47 games of the 2026 WBC will be broadcast by Fox and affiliated networks, including FS1, FS2, Fox Deportes and Tubi. Games can also be streamed on fubo (Try for free).
(All times are Eastern)
WBC Pool Play
Monday, March 9
Korea 7, Australia 2
Colombia 4, Panama 3
Dominican Republic 10, Israel 1
Great Britain 8, Brazil 1
Venezuela 4, Nicaragua 0
Puerto Rico 4, Cuba 1
United States 5, Mexico 3
Tuesday, March 10
Czechia vs. Japan (6 a.m., FS1)
Israel vs. Netherlands (7 p.m., Fox)
Canada vs. Puerto Rico (7 p.m., Tubi)
Italy vs. United States (9 p.m., FS1)
Wednesday, March 11
Canada vs. Cuba (3 p.m., FS2)
Italy vs. Mexico (7 p.m., Tubi)
Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela (8 p.m., FS1)
Wednesday, March 4
Australia 3, Chinese Taipei 0
Thursday, March 5
Korea 11, Czechia 4
Australia 5, Czechia 1
Friday, March 6
Japan 13, Chinese Taipei 0
Cuba 3, Panama 1
Venezuela 6, Netherlands 2
Mexico 8, Great Britain 2
Puerto Rico 5, Colombia 0
Dominican Republic 12, Nicaragua 3
USA 15, Brazil 5
Chinese Taipei 14, Czechia 0
Saturday, March 7
Japan 8, Korea 6
Canada 8, Colombia 2
Netherlands 4, Nicaragua 3
Italy 8, Brazil 0
Puerto Rico 4, Panama 3
Venezuela 11, Israel 3
USA 9, Great Britain 1
Chinese Taipei 5, Korea 4 (10)
Sunday, March 8
Japan 4, Australia 3
Dominican Republic 12, Netherlands 1 (7)
Cuba 7, Colombia 4
Italy 7, Great Britain 4
Panama 4, Canada 3
Israel 5, Nicaragua 0
Mexico 16, Brazil 0 (6)
WBC Quarterfinals
Friday, March 13
TBD vs. Korea in Miami (6:30 p.m., FS2)
TBD vs. TBD in Houston (8 p.m., Fox)
Saturday, March 14
TBD vs. TBD in Houston (3 p.m., FS1)
Japan vs. TBD in Miami (9 p.m., Fox)
WBC Semifinals
Sunday, March 15
TBD vs. TBD in Miami (8 p.m., FS1)
Monday, March 16
TBD vs. TBD in Miami (8 p.m., FS1)
WBC Championship
Tuesday, March 17
TBD vs. TBD in Miami (8 p.m., Fox)
