The United States has already announced the commitments of Paul Skenes and Aaron Judge for the World Baseball Classic. Another superstar has been announced to join the team: Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals.
Red, white, and royal blue.
Bobby Witt Jr. has announced that he will play for Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic! pic.twitter.com/tCzLnXyjNq
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) June 26, 2025
Witt was on Team USA in 2022, but this time he joins as an expected leader on the team. In 2022, he only had two at-bats and recorded one hit. Since then, he has been named an All-Star and has received MVP votes in Major League Baseball. With has a .300/.351/.530 slash line in the big leagues since the last World Baseball Classic. He has hit 72 home runs in that span.
Manager Mark DeRosa spoke to Witt on MLB Network after the announcement, and confirmed Witt will be a starter this go around.
“It’s in honor. It’s something that I’ve been dreaming about my whole entire life,” Witt said of being the starting shortstop for Team USA on MLB Network. “Just being part of that team a couple of years ago was amazing. Now we want to bring home the gold.”
Witt is one of the best players in baseball and was the American League MVP runner-up to Aaron Judge last year. He was also a Silver Slugger Award winner and a Gold Glove Award Winner.
Team USA still has many spots to fill on its roster. However, they have locked down arguably the best pitcher in the world, arguably the best hitter in the world and, now, one of the brightest young players in the world.
WBN WBC: https://worldbaseball.com/league/wbc/
Photo: Kansas City Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. handles his bat during batting practice before a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Friday, June 20, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Tony Ding)
