USA Baseball Brings Back Manager Mark DeRosa For 2026 World Baseball Classic
Matt Tallarini - World Baseball Network | Apr 10th, 2025 6:40pm EDT
USA Baseball announced Thursday that Mark DeRosa will return as manager of Team USA for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Michael Hill, Major League Baseball’s senior vice president of on-field operations and workforce development, was named general manager. Hill will replace Tony Reagins in the role and will help construct the national team roster for the 2026 WBC.
Our leadership is set
Michael Hill will be our general manager and Mark DeRosa returns as manager for Team USA at the 2026 World Baseball Classic!
— USA Baseball (@USABaseball) April 10, 2025
DeRosa, who guided the United States to a silver-medal finish in the 2023 WBC, will lead the team for a second consecutive tournament. The decision was led by USA Baseball President Jon Christopher Gall and Executive Director and CEO Paul Seiler, who also worked with Hill on his appointment.
Hill, 54, was born in Cincinnati and graduated from Harvard University in 1993—the same year he was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 31st round of the MLB Draft. He played in both the Rangers’ and Reds’ minor league systems before beginning his front office career with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1995. He joined the Colorado Rockies in 1999 as director of player development.
In 2002, Hill became assistant general manager of the Florida Marlins. He was promoted to general manager in 2008 and served as president of baseball operations from 2014 until 2020, when he helped guide the club to its first playoff berth in 17 years.
“Having the opportunity to lead Team USA into the World Baseball Classic is an honor and a privilege for me,” Hill said in a statement posted to USA Baseball’s website on April 10. “I look forward to working with Mark DeRosa and our coaching staff in building a team whose goal is to win a championship.”
Hill’s current duties with MLB include overseeing on-field operations and discipline, umpiring, and the league’s Front Office & On-Field Diversity Pipeline Program. His responsibilities were expanded in September 2024 to include initiatives such as the MLB Diversity Fellowship, MLB University, and Take The Field.
DeRosa, a Passaic, N.J. native, played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Braves, Rangers, Cubs, Indians, Cardinals, Giants, Nationals, and Blue Jays. He currently works full-time as an analyst and co-host on MLB Central on MLB Network.
“Getting the chance to share the clubhouse and dugout with USA’s greatest staff and players was one of the highlights of my life,” DeRosa said. “I’m extremely grateful and fired up to get another opportunity to put USA across my chest come March.”
He also played for Team USA in the 2009 WBC, where he batted .316 with nine RBI in six games.
Over his MLB career, DeRosa posted a .268 average with 975 hits, 100 home runs, and 494 RBI in 1,241 games. His career WAR was 10.6, and he maintained a .751 OPS while playing eight different positions across 16 seasons.
The United States will face Italy, Mexico, Great Britain, and Brazil in Pool B from March 6-11 at Daikin Park in Houston.
The United States will keep their eyes on bringing back Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, Pete Alonso, Kyle Tucker, Cedric Mullins, Bobby Witt Jr., Will Smith, Nolan Arenado, J.T. Realmuto, and Kyle Schwarber, who were all on the roster during the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Other offensive additions that could help the United States would be Aaron Judge, Corbin Carroll, Adley Rutschman, Jacob Wilson, Jackson Merrill, Michael Harris III, Austin Riley, Victor Scott, Jordan Walker, Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg, Dylan Moore, Cal Raleigh, Marcus Semien, Nico Hoerner, and Corey Seager.
Brady Singer, Ryan Pressly, Jason Adam, Devin Williams, and Kyle Freeland are pitchers from their starting rotation and bullpen who can possibly come back from the 2023 roster for Team USA.
Lance Lynn and Adam Wainwright recently retired from Major League Baseball but were a big factor in helping the United States reach the championship game in 2023.
Other possible rotation options for Team USA heading into the 2026 WBC include Tarik Skubal, Corbin Burnes, Tylor Megill, Zack Wheeler, Carlos Rodon, Nathan Eovaldi, Hunter Greene, Spencer Strider, Jack Flaherty, Hunter Brown, Dustin May, Blake Snell, Chris Sale, Nick Lodolo, Joe Ryan, Kevin Gausman, Paul Skenes, Max Fried, Garrett Crochet, Hayden Wesneski, Logan Gilbert, Tyler Mahle, Shane Baz, Spencer Schwellenbach, and Mitchell Parker—if they can stay healthy and produce strong numbers for the remainder of the 2025 season.
Relievers such as Josh Hader, Ryan Walker, Mason Miller, Kyle Finnegan, Porter Hodge, Luke Jackson, Blake Treinen, Luke Weaver, Anthony Banda, Jeremiah Estrada, Alek Jacob, Pete Fairbanks, Ryan Helsley, and Kirby Yates can be high possible options for the United States to evaluate as newcomers for their bullpen on their 2026 WBC roster.
Ancestry can also play a big part for teams such as Great Britain, Israel, and Italy, which will heavily recruit United States-born players that have claimed dual citizenship for those countries.
Japan has won the most WBC championships with three—in 2006, 2009, and 2023. The United States won in 2017 and the Dominican Republic won in 2013. These are the only three countries to win the World Baseball Classic since the event started in 2006.
The WBC is sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, the sport’s global governing body, alongside Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association, and the WBCI, which partner to organize the event during spring training.
The 2026 WBC pool matchups and confirmed dates are listed on MLB.com, though game start times have not yet been announced.
2026 World Baseball Classic Information
Nicaragua will play against Venezuela, Israel, the Netherlands, and the Dominican Republic in Miami at loanDepot Park from March 6-11 in Pool D.
Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, Panama, and Colombia will compete in San Juan, Puerto Rico at Hiram Bithorn Stadium from March 6-11 in Pool A.
Japan, Australia, South Korea, Czech Republic, and Chinese Taipei will compete at the Tokyo Dome from March 5-10 in Pool C.
The Quarterfinals of the 2026 WBC will feature the Pool A runner-up facing the Pool B winner on March 13, while the Pool B runner-up will face the Pool A winner on March 14 at Daikin Park.
The other side of the Quarterfinals will be on March 13 with the Pool C runner-up playing the Pool D winner and the Pool D runner-up.
The schedule for the 2026 @WBCBaseball is here!
pic.twitter.com/B5MvUIrZK5
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) April 9, 2025
WBSC Rankings Outline
Japan is ranked at No. 1 in the World Baseball Rankings and will play in their sixth WBC. Chinese Taipei hails at No. 2. and will play in their sixth event. Venezuela at No. 3 and will appear for the sixth time at the WBC. Mexico is at No. 4 and will play in their sixth WBC. The United States is at No. 5 and will appear for the sixth time in the WBC. South Korea is labeled at No. 6 and will play in their sixth WBC.
The Netherlands at No. 7 will play in the WBC for the sixth time. Panama at No. 8 will play at the event for the fourth time. Puerto Rico crawling in at No. 9 will appear for the sixth time. Cuba is at No. 10 and will appear in the sixth WBC. The Dominican Republic at No. 11 will play in their sixth event. Australia pipelines at No. 12 and will play for the sixth time at the WBC.
Colombia at No. 13 and will appear in their third WBC. Italy is at No. 14 and will play in their sixth event The Czech Republic at No. 15 will appear in their second WBC. Nicaragua is ranked at No. 16 and will appear in the WBC for the second-time.
Great Britain at No. 18 will play for the second time at the WBC. Israel is ranked at No. 19 and will play in their third WBC. Canada is at No. 22 and will play in their sixth event. Brazil is ranked at No. 23 and will play in their second WBC.
In the 2023 WBC, Nicaragua, Great Britain, and the Czech Republic played in their first event. Israel and Colombia have played in three consecutive WBC events dating back to 2017. Brazil is appearing in the WBC for the first time since 2013. Panama has played in the WBC previously in 2006, 2009 and 2023, prior to 2026.
China will not be participating for the first time in the WBC since they did not qualify in the second qualifier in Tucson, Ariz., while going 0-3. They have been in the WBC since 2006, in the event’s first year.
The teams that are playing in the 2026 WBC and are part of the WBSC Americas sector are the United States, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Nicaragua, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic. In the WBSC Europe sector, Italy, Israel, Great Britain, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands are participating in the 2026 event.
Japan, Chinese Taipei, and South Korea are in the WBSC Asia sector and Australia is in the WBSC Oceania sector.
All the other listed remaining countries have played in the WBC since its first year in 2006.
The WBC is sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, the sports governing body alongside Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association and the WBCI, that partner in organizing the event during spring training.
The 2026 WBC pool matchups for all games are slated on https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic/venues with the confirmed dates, and no game start times have yet been announced.
If teams end up with the same record in pool play the Total Quality Balance run differential rule will be in effect for runs for and runs against alongside the head-to-head record.
2026 WBC Pool Matchups With Confirmed Dates
Pool A – Puerto Rico, Colombia, Panama, Canada & Cuba
Venue – Hiram Bithorn Stadium – San Juan, Puerto Rico
March 6
Game 1 – Cuba vs. Panama
Game 2 – Puerto Rico vs. Colombia
March 7
Game 3 – Colombia vs. Canada
Game 4 – Panama vs. Puerto Rico
March 8
Game 5 – Colombia vs. Cuba
Game 6 – Panama vs. Canada
March 9
Game 7 – Colombia vs. Panama
Game 8 – Cuba vs. Puerto Rico
March 10
Game 9 – Canada vs. Puerto Rico
March 11
Game 10 – Canada vs. Cuba
Pool B – United States, Mexico, Brazil, Great Britain & Italy
Venue – Daikin Park – Houston, Texas
March 6
Game 1 – Mexico vs. Great Britain
Game 2 – United States vs. Brazil
March 7
Game 3 – Brazil vs. Italy
Game 4 – Great Britain vs. United States
March 8
Game 5 – Great Britain vs. Italy
Game 6 – Brazil vs. Mexico
March 9
Game 7 – Brazil vs. Great Britain
Game 8 – Mexico vs. United States
March 10
Game 9 – Italy vs. United States
March 11
Game 10 – Italy vs. Mexico
Pool C – Japan, Chinese Taipei, Australia, South Korea & Czech Republic
Venue – Tokyo Dome – Tokyo, Japan
March 5
Game 1 – Chinese Taipei vs. Australia
Game 2 – Czechia vs. South Korea
March 6
Game 3 – Australia vs. Czechia
Game 4 – Japan vs. Chinese Taipei
March 7
Game 5 – Chinese Taipei vs. Czechia
Game 6 – South Korea vs. Japan
March 8
Game 7 – Chinese Taipei vs. South Korea
Game 8 – Australia vs. Japan
March 9
Game 9 – South Korea vs. Australia
March 10
Game 10 – Czechia vs. Japan
Pool D – Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Venezuela, Israel & Nicaragua
Venue – loanDepot Park – Miami, Fla.
March 6
Game 1 – Netherlands vs. Venezuela
Game 2 – Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic
March 7
Game 3 – Nicaragua vs. Netherlands
Game 4 – Israel vs. Venezuela
March 8
Game 5 – Netherlands vs. Dominican Republic
Game 6 – Nicaragua vs. Israel
March 9
Game 7 – Dominican Republic vs. Israel
Game 8 – Venezuela vs. Nicaragua
March 10
Game 9 – Israel vs. Netherlands
March 11
Game 10 – Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela
The 2026 WBC semifinals will be held on March 15 and 16 at loanDepot Park, with the championship game taking place on March 17.
Photo courtesy USA Baseball / usabaseball.com
Category: United States, WBC