In April, Nicaragua’s federation announced it is close to hosting a Premier12 qualifier in 2026. China is also planning to host a Premier12 qualifier. The Premier12 announced it would expand to 16 teams in 2027, and for the first time, the event will hold qualifying tournaments for the final four spots.
The top 12 teams in the WBSC World Rankings after 2025 will have their spots in the 2027 Premier12. The top 12 ranked teams right now are Japan, Taiwan, Venezuela, Mexico, USA, South Korea, The Netherlands, Panama, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Australia.
With the lead the top 11 teams have on the teams below them, barring something crazy, they should be in the Premier12 in 2027. The final spot to be guaranteed a spot in 2027 is likely to come down to Australia, Colombia, and Italy. The 12th spot will be coveted by teams looking to avoid having to play in a qualifier.
Teams 13th through 18th at the end of 2025 will play in the qualifiers. Those teams are Colombia, Italy, Czech, Nicaragua, Germany, and Great Britain. With several tournaments in 2025 for these nations, they’ll have plenty of opportunities to ensure they will at least be in the Premier12 qualifiers.
Two wild cards will be given for the final two spots. There will be two qualifier groups of four teams apiece. If both hosts are ranked inside the top 20, teams ranked 13-20 will make up the qualifier field. If one of the hosts is ranked outside the top 20, one of the teams ranked 19/20 will be left out of the qualifiers. As of right now, China is ranked 20th. Israel is ranked 19th. If China is named host, that will open the door for nations such as France/Canada/Brazil/Spain to potentially snag a spot as a wild card. The top 2 teams in each qualifier will advance to the 2027 Premier12.
In the Premier12 in 2019, the top team from the Americas and the top finisher between Asia and Oceania got a spot in the Tokyo Olympics. With the Olympics once again having six teams, a similar format is expected.
There currently isn’t an agreement for MLB to stop its season and allow MLB players to play, but there is certainly optimism that they will be there.
The tournament has already been announced as being at Dodger Stadium. Multiple MLB players have already gone at record that they want to be there. With the possibility of MLB players being there, the next Olympic qualification cycle will be the most important since baseball was first introduced to the Summer Olympics. This also means the 2027 Premier12 will be the most crucial in tournament history. Expansion came at a perfect time.
There are plenty of tournaments to come in 2025, with teams vying for a spot in the Premier12, but we are a year away from Premier12 qualifiers on the road to Los Angeles 2028.
