2026 World Baseball Classic: Team USA Roster, Schedule, and How to Watch with Sling
Team USA enters the 2026 World Baseball Classic in search of their second championship. Here’s a look at the team and how to watch their games with Sling.
Less than a month after U.S. Hockey asserted global dominance by winning its first gold medal in 46 years at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, Team USA will attempt the same feat on the baseball diamond.
The World Baseball Classic – scheduled for Wednesday, March 4 through Tuesday, March 17 – will feature players from all across the globe going to bat for their home nations in a tournament that only takes place every four years (give or take a pandemic). Houston and Miami will host two of the four five-team Pools participating in this year’s event, and the Semifinals and Final will be held in Miami. That could give a boost to the American team, which will play its four Round-Robin games in Houston. At least oddsmakers think so: the U.S. enters the tournament as a heavy -110 favorite, followed by defending champion Japan at +330 and 2013 winner the Dominican Republic at +450.
Here’s a look at the American squad that will take the field for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, along with how to watch all of their games with Sling. To subscribe to Sling Select with FS1 and FOX in designated markets, use the link below and follow this link for more information on the full event!
How to Watch Team USA at the 2026 World Baseball Classic with Sling
https://youtu.be/Ccu5c7qfEWg?si=LYhANGkGA1jTNWWT
FOX Sports will broadcast the entire 2026 World Baseball Classic on FOX, FS1, FS2, Tubi, and the FOX One app. Three of Team USA’s four Pool B games will air on FOX, with the fourth on FS1. You can watch all WBC games on FS1 with a subscription to Sling Select or Sling Blue, while FOX games are available with Sling Select or Blue in the markets listed below:
If you don’t live in one of those markets, you can still watch games airing on FOX by downloading the FOX One app and signing in using your Sling credentials.
Team USA World Baseball Classic Pool Play Schedule
The World Baseball Classic is formatted similarly to other global sports tournaments like the FIFA World Cup: Round Robin Pool play – in this case, four Pools consisting of five teams – followed by single-elimination knock-out rounds. Team USA is in Pool B, which also includes Mexico, Italy, Great Britain, and Brazil. The top two teams from each pool will advance to the knockout stage, which begins with quarterfinals. Here’s a look at Team USA’s schedule at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
2026 World Baseball Classic Knockout Rounds Schedule
With Team USA heavily favored to be one of the two teams to make it out of Pool B, it’s not too soon to start looking ahead to the quarterfinal…and beyond. Here’s the schedule for the knockout rounds.
What is the Team USA roster at the 2026 World Baseball Classic?
As you might imagine, the Team USA roster for the 2026 WBC is stacked. Like, loaded with future Hall of Famers stacked. Here’s a look at the full roster for Team USA.
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As for the projected batting order, the exhibition game between the San Francisco Giants and Team USA on Tuesday, March 3 could provide some insights. Here’s how that shook out:
1. Bobby Witt Jr., SS
2. Bryce Harper, 1B
3. Aaron Judge, RF
4. Kyle Schwarber, DH
5. Alex Bregman, 3B
6. Cal Raleigh, C
7. Roman Anthony, LF
8. Byron Buxton, CF
9. Brice Turang, 2B
Team USA has already announced the pitching rotation for its four Pool games. Here’s a look at the starting pitchers and which team they’ll face:
Logan Webb (R) vs. Brazil
Tarik Skubal (L) vs. Great Britain
Paul Skenes R) vs. Mexico
Nolan McLean (R) vs. Italy
What is Team USA’s history at the World Baseball Classic?
https://youtu.be/qkRUcYHJ1JI?si=5Gwtl7_4UnsrAsxR
Despite baseball being “America’s past time,” Team USA has a surprisingly mixed history since the World Baseball Classic began in 2006. That team was eliminated by Mexico in the second round, with Japan emerging as the first WBC champion after defeating Cuba in the final. Speaking of Japan, they earned their second-straight WBC title in 2009 after knocking out the Americans in the semifinal, then defeating Korea in the Final courtesy of Ichiro Suzuki’s two-out, two-run single in the 10th inning. Despite switching to an every four years format in 2013, Team USA was still unable to collect a trophy, exiting in the second round courtesy of a 4-3 loss to Puerto Rico. The Dominican Republic claimed its first WBC title that year thanks to an unbeaten run that included a 3-0 win over Puerto Rico in the final. In 2017, Team USA finally broke through, beating Japan 2-1 in the semifinal and clobbering Puerto Rico 8-0 in the championship game. The next World Baseball Classic was delayed two years due to the pandemic, but the 2023 edition delivered arguably the most memorable moment in the tournament’s history. That’s when Shohei Ohtani struck out his then Angels teammate Mike Trout with a series of 100 MPH heaters in a 2-1 championship victory.
To watch the most WBC games with Sling, use the link below to subscribe to Sling Blue with Sports Extras!