The Brazilian National Baseball Team has been called up for the WBC Qualifiers – World Baseball Classic. The announcement of the team led by Daniel Yuichi Matsumoto was made on thursday (13), to face the biggest challenge for Brazilian baseball in 2025. In this sense, the World Baseball Classic is considered the World Cup of the sport, and Brazil hasn’t competed in the main stage since 2013. On that occasion, the ‘Seleção’ qualified for the competition in 2012 in a historic run in Panama. Despite being eliminated early in the competition, Brazil marked an entire generation of fans.
Now, the Team is renewed for the challenge, especially the new coaching staff, made up of former players with experience in international competitions and 100% Brazilian—Brazil has always had US coaches appointed to lead the team in this type of competition. Likewise, the coaches are among the top names in Brazilian baseball history, which means that expectations are high for the competition.
#The team aims another surprising year, such as in 2023, when Brazil won the silver medal at the Pan-American Games of Santiago (Photo: Natan Pires)
In addition to Yuichi, the committee includes Reinaldo Tsugio Sato, Matsumoto’s teammate in 2013, who works professionally as a coach in Japan; Kléber Ojima, a Brazilian pitcher who made history in the 1990s and 2000s; and coach Thiago Caldeira and former players André Rienzo and Paulo Orlando, who are among the first Brazilians to play in Major League Baseball (USA), the world’s leading baseball league.
The squad will feature foreign baseball and experience
The group includes players who play in Brazil in an amateur context and professionals who play in leagues around the world. This model is common and has been a constant in the Brazilian national team squads, contributing to the group’s development as a whole. One example is the team that competed in the Pan American Games in Santiago in 2023, winning the first medal in Brazil’s baseball history.
#Reginatto, a fan-favourite among Brazilians and caribbeans, is back with the team (Photo: Daniel Shirey/MLB)
In this regard, two of the main names in this squad stand out. The first is pitcher Bo Takahashi, who plays for the Saitama Seibu Lions in the NPB, Japan’s top professional league. Bo recently renewed his contract and has been outstanding in recent seasons. Similarly, Leonardo Reginatto has returned to the national team and will captain Brazil in the competition. Reginatto has extensive professional experience in leagues such as Venezuela and Mexico and was the team’s main name in the 2022 qualifiers.
Likewise, the team will be able to count on the contribution of foreign players, as the rules of the competition allow. In this context, the WBC allows players with family or residence ties to a country to represent that nation. In particular, the squad will have two children of Brazilians who were born abroad. One is Japanese pitcher Enzo Sawayama, a medallist for Brazil at the Pan-American Games in Santiago in 2023. Like Enzo, another returning member of the team is Dante Bichette Jr., an American who played for the Seleção in the 2017 WBC qualifying round. On that occasion, Dante played with his brother Bo Bichette, who now plays for the MLB’s Toronto Blue Jays.
Call-up will include young surprises
As has been the case in many recent call-ups, the Brazilian national team will have a young contingent representing Brazil. Among the highlights for the 2025 WBC are Arthur Tsujiguchi, a pitcher who plays collegiate baseball in Japan but has already been part of Brazil’s U18 squads. In addition to him, pitcher Caio Araújo was also called up—he is one of the main Brazilian names in the traditional college leagues in the United States, representing Alabama State University.
#João Marostica, who plays for Tochigi Golden Braves from Japan, is also with the team (Photo: WBSC)
Another big surprise was the call-up of Lucas Ramirez, son of star Manny Ramirez, who made Major League Baseball history with the Boston Red Sox. Lucas was born in the USA but is the son of a Brazilian mother – Juliana Ramirez is married to Manny. According to the rules of the competition, there are several issues that make an athlete eligible to represent a country. The rule that covers Lucas’ case is the same one that allows Dante Bichette Jr. to be in the squad. Finally, another big surprise is pitcher Rafael Ohashi, who was left out of the 2022 squad but returns to the national team at a critical time.
Competition will be fairer and with better chances for Brazilian baseball
Brazil will play in the qualifying tournament between 2 and 6 March in Tucson, Arizona (USA). Together with Colombia, who beat Brazil in the final of the Santiago Pan-American Games, Brazilian baseball is in a group with Germany and China. In this context, there is an expectation regarding the Chinese since Brazil only failed to advance in the competition in 2013 due to a defeat by the Asians.
#Pedro da Costa Lemos, part of the Seattle Mariners franchise, is one of the most promising players from Brazil (Photo: Social Media/Pedro da Costa)
Also, in this sense, the 2025 qualifier will, in theory, be more straightforward than the last one in 2022. On that occasion, Brazil played against Argentina, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Panama and Pakistan. The team played some good baseball but fell by the wayside when they lost to Panama in the main round and Nicaragua in the playoffs. Despite winning two games, just like their Caribbean rivals, the rules of the competition favoured Panama and Nicaragua, who played as seeded teams.
In 2025, Brazil will play Colombia, Germany, and China in sequence. If they win all three games, they will qualify for the World Baseball Classic in 2026. However, if necessary, the Seleção can count on a final game, in which the winner also guarantees a place in the WBC.
Check out the full squad list:
CATCHERS
Gabriel do Carmo Barros (Montigny Cougars – France)
Gabriel Gomes (DSL Reds, affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds – USA)
Matheus Lelis (Nippon Blue Jays – Brazil)
INFIELD
Daniel Yonemura (Bibai Black Diamonds – Japan)
Dante Bichette Jr. (Cafe Bros – Mexico)
Felipe Mitsuro (GECEBS – Brazil)
Leonardo Reginatto (Caribes de Anzoategui – Venezuela)
Lucas Rojo (Atibaia – Brazil)
Osvaldo Carvalho (Marília – Brazil)
Thiago Nishiyama (Nittai University – Japan)
Vitor Ito (Marília – Brazil)
OUTFIELD
Gabriel Maciel (Sussex County Miners – USA)
Lucas Ramirez (ACL Angels, affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels – USA)
Victor Coutinho (Nettuno – Italy)
PITCHERS (14)
Arthur Tsujiguchi (Wellness University – Japan)
Caio Araújo (Alabama State University – USA)
Enzo Sawayama (Yamaha – Japan)
Eric Pardinho (Buffalo Bisons, Toronto Blue Jays Triple-A – USA)
Hector Villaroel (Atibaia – Brazil)
Heitor Tokar (Federales de Chiriquí – Panama)
Hugo Kanabushi (Marília – Brazil)
João Marostica (Tochigi Golden Braves – Japan)
Murilo Gouvea (Atibaia – Brazil)
Oscar Nakaoshi (Adelaide Giants – Australia)
Pedro Costa (Modesto Nuts, Seattle Mariners Single-A – USA)
Rafael Ohashi (Atibaia – Brazil)
Rodrigo ‘Bo’ Takahashi (Seibu Lions – Japan)
Tiago da Silva (Tigres de Aragua – Venezuela)
STAFF
Daniel Yuichi Matsumoto
Reinaldo Tsugio Sato
Thiago Caldeira
André Rienzo
Paulo Orlando
Kléber Ojima
