Who is the next big baseball nation in the WBC? -

With Venezuela crowned as the 2026 World Baseball Classic champions, four teams, as always, are set to be relegated from the next edition of the tournament, needing to re-qualify to make it back to the show.

Brazil, Czechia, Panama and Nicaragua will need to re-qualify for the next edition of the classic, taking place in either 2029 or 2030, due to finishing last in their pools.

While some of these nations may be favourites to return to the next edition of the classic, there are a host of nations eager to gain a spot in the tournament.

Spain 🇪🇦

Let’s start with the first team out of the 2026 tournament.

Furie Rosse finished their WBC qualification with a .500 record in Pool A, which was won by Nicaragua.

Spain had the opportunity to advance to the tournament in a second-place playoff with Chinese Taipei, but lost the game 6-3 after beating the side 12-5 in an earlier meeting.

Despite missing the tournament, Spain won two qualifying games and held the eventual pool winners Nicaragua to only 2 runs in a heavily defensive game from both teams.

After making the 2023 competition, missing the ’26 classic stung for the Furie Rosse, but their performance in the qualifying pools says they’ll be back and soon to make a splash in qualifiers.

Uganda 🇺🇬

Despite having never sent a team to the WBC before, Uganda has all the makings of an international baseball powerhouse and a chance at becoming the first African nation to qualify for the tournament since 2009.

There are currently five Ugandan players playing in independent leagues in Japan, with a handful more playing college ball in the US. Additionally, the Ugandan baseball league is set to resume play in May 2026 after a four year hiatus.

While currently Uganda may not be in position to compete in the tournament, it is completely fair to say that the resumption of the national league may precede a Ugandan entry into the next edition of the tournament, and an excellent example of how to build a baseball powerhouse from the ground up.

Palau 🇵🇼

While maybe not as ready as other teams on the list, Palau has a long and rich history of baseball culture that could propel an attempt at qualification for the WBC.

The Palau Major Leagues, the national baseball league for the island nation, actually predates other major leagues around the world, such as Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan and the Korean Baseball League. And the nation itself has a fair history of success in international baseball, including medals in the Pacific Games, as well as a gold in 2025.

Palau’s biggest path to international success is their close relationship with Taiwan. The multi-time WBC qualifiers and Premier12 winners have been keen allies to the Palauan team, including inviting the national squad to train with the team from the National Sporting University of Taiwan.

While even an entry in 2029/30 might be ambitious for the island nation, the quality of baseball in the country is growing. Support from a close ally like Taiwan is likely to lead to the national team making an appearance in a future iteration of the greatest tournament in baseball.

Curaçao 🇨🇼

Team Netherlands has been a staple of the WBC tournament since its inception, making every tournament after the initial running in 2006 and making the semi-finals twice. However, as of 2026, a large portion of the players competing actually hail from the caribbean nation of Curaçao.

Curaçao is, arguably, one of the most baseball-ready nation on this list as they basically already field a team in the tournament. If the nation ever opted to field their own team instead of committing their players to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, then the team would likely be ready to compete at the start of the next tournament.

There’s not a lot to write about Curaçao as there is not a lot of work to be done. The nation practically competes in the tournament already, so an independent entry into the tournament would be an easy task.

Palestine 🇵🇸

The Asian continent is home to some of the best baseball nations in the world, including three-time World Baseball Classic champions Japan and the ever-tough South Korea lineup. Despite this fierce competition, Palestine’s national baseball team has emerged as one of the best of the rest.

In the bi-annual Asian Baseball Championship, Palestine is one of the most competitive national teams. In the 2025 edition of the tournament, Palestine finished 5th place, best of all teams that haven’t made a WBC appearance in the last three years.

In the 2025 West-Asia Baseball Cup, Palestine won their first ever international baseball tournament with a 5-4 defeat over team Pakistan.

Always a strong competitor in international competitions, Palestine could be the very next Asian nation to become a baseball powerhouse in the World Baseball Classic.

The World Baseball Classic is arguably one of the fastest growing and most entertaining tournaments in the world right now and it shows no sign of slowing down. Baseball has truly taken off as an international sport and more and more nations are scheduled to get in on the fun.