All 20 rosters for the 2026 World Baseball Classic will be revealed during a 90-minute MLB Network special on Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. ET.
Siera Santos will host the program alongside former MLB All-Star Chris Young and reporter Jon Morosi. The broadcast will feature an exclusive interview with Team USA stars Aaron Judge, Paul Skenes, and Tarik Skubal, conducted by Lauren Shehadi. Team USA manager Mark DeRosa will also appear to discuss the roster the Americans have assembled as they chase their first World Baseball Classic title since 2017.
The timing comes just two days after countries submit their final 30-man rosters on Feb. 3.
Several high-profile names have withdrawn in recent days. Mets infielder Bo Bichette informed Brazil’s coaching staff on Tuesday that he won’t participate after previously committing to play alongside his brother Dante Jr. Mets pitching prospect Jonah Tong confirmed Thursday that he won’t pitch for Canada, choosing instead to focus on spring training. Jose Altuve opted out of representing Venezuela at the Astros’ request.
Team USA’s roster has taken shape over the past few months. Beyond Judge, Skenes, and Skubal, the group includes Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Cal Raleigh, Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson, Corbin Carroll, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and soon-to-be NBC Sports studio analyst Clayton Kershaw.
The Americans finished runner-up to Japan in 2023, falling 3-2 in a championship game that peaked at 6.5 million viewers when Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout to clinch the title. That final averaged 4.97 million combined viewers on FS1 and Fox Deportes. Three of the four most-watched World Baseball Classic games in U.S. history came from the 2023 tournament.
The tournament’s popularity exploded internationally, particularly in Japan, where games averaged over 30 million viewers.
The 2026 tournament begins March 5 with pool play at four sites. The championship game is March 17 at loanDepot Park in Miami.
The Feb. 5 special will stream on MLB.com, MLB.TV, and the MLB App.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.