When the Baseball Champions League Americas returns to Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu from March 24-29, there will be two new leagues participating.
For the third edition of the BCL Americas, the CTBC Brothers of the Chinese Professional Baseball League and a team from Venezuela’s Liga Mayor de Beisbol Profesional will join the Kane County Cougars of the American Association, the Diablos Rojos del Mexico of the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, the champion of Cuba’s Serie Nacional, and the Dantos de Managua of Nicaragua’s German Pomares league in Mexico City.
The event, which is operated by the WBSC Americas, has been played in Mexico since the first event in 2023, and has had teams from Colombia, Cuba, Curacao, Mexico, the United States, Nicaragua, and Puerto Rico participate in previous events. Taiwan’s CTBC Brothers, who have won 20 titles in the CPBL in the 37 seasons since the club’s founding, will participate for the first time as the WBSC looks to expand the Baseball Champions League concept to Asia.
According to Guillermo Ramírez González, the commissioner of the Baseball Champions League, both the CPBL and South Korea’s Korea Baseball Organization were contacted about participating in the 2026 Baseball Champions League Americas, but only the CPBL was able to send a team.
“What really hindered it a bit was the issue of the World Baseball Classic,” Ramirez said. “The WBC and everything that Korea’s participation entails, the players, the league, their federation was too focused on that issue.”
Nonetheless, the Brothers will be in Mexico City, and they will be coming to win.
“The whole team is ready and we hope to compete,” said YiLing Hung of the CPBL. “And for the CTBC Brothers, participating in this tournament is also a great opportunity to showcase our level. And we also have a single objective: to fight for the championship.”
Both the CPBL’s CTBC Brothers and Venezuela’s LMBP are first-time invitees to the event, which is being played for the third time. Venezuela’s representative will be announced in the near future, officials said.
“The best way to continue growing is with short but firm steps to become a great summer league, which is the goal of all the teams that participate in our league,” said Arturo Recido, the president of Venezuela’s LMBP. “For us, it’s an honor to have been considered to participate in this [event.]”
The six teams will be divided into two groups, with Mexico, the United States, and Venezuela in one group, and Cuba, Chinese Taipei, and Nicaragua in the other. During group play, games will be played at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time. The leader of each group will advance directly to the semifinals, which will be played March 28, while the second- and third-place teams from each group will square off for a spot in the semifinals on March 27. The grand final will take place on Sunday, March 29.
The Diablos Rojos are the defending champions of the Baseball Champions League, a tournament they won in 2025, beating Cuba’s Leñadores de Las Tunas 6-1 in the championship game. The first Baseball Champions League Americas was played in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico in September 2023 and won by the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the American Association.
“Last year was an extraordinary experience. The Kane County Cougars are returning to the tournament, and we as a league will be looking to reclaim the BCL championship trophy we won in 2023,” said Josh Schaub, the commissioner of the American Association, an independent league with teams in the midwestern U.S. and Canada.
The schedule, ticket prices, and broadcast information for the 2026 Baseball Champions League Americas will be announced at a later date, though it was noted that there will be broadcasts available in Nicaragua, Venezuela, the United States, Taiwan, and Mexico.
“The BCL is a global event,” said Guillermo Ramírez, Commissioner of the Baseball Champions League . “This year, the Baseball Champions League Europe will also take place. Now we have the opportunity to invite Chinese Taipei. In the future, we will deliver the best club tournament; we are taking it one step at a time, and with the addition of a team from Asia, we are getting closer to that goal.”
Photo: YEstadio Alfredo Harp Helu in Mexico City will host the 2026 Baseball Champions League Americas. (Photo by Leif Skodnick/World Baseball Network)
