World Baseball Classic sets schedule, venues, pools for 2026 tournament, including championship game in Miami

The next installment of the World Baseball Classic is less than two years away and, on Wednesday, World Baseball Classic, Inc. (WBCI) announced dates, venues, and pools for the 2026 WBC. Games will be played at Minute Maid Park in Houston, loanDepot Park in Miami, Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Puerto Rico, and the Tokyo Dome in Japan.

"We are excited and honored to be hosting World Baseball Classic matchups for the first time," Astros owner Jim Crane said in a statement. "Houston is a global city with the best baseball fans, and we are proud to welcome fans from across the globe to watch international competition at Minute Maid Park."

In 2023, the WBC expanded to 20 teams for the first time, and the 16 teams that finished in the top four of their pools received an automatic berth into the 2026 WBC. The other four spots will be decided through qualifying events next year. More information on the qualifiers will be announced in the future. Here are the pools for the 2026 WBC:

Pool play is a round robin double-elimination tournament. From there, the top two teams in Pools A and B will meet in the quarterfinals in Houston while the top two teams in Pools C and D will meet in the quarterfinals in Miami. The semifinals and finals will again be played in Miami. It is single elimination after pool play.

The 2026 WBC Championship Game is scheduled for Tuesday, March 17. Here is the 2026 WBC bracket:

The WBC showcases the top talent in the world in a best-on-best tournament, and is part of MLB's efforts to grow the game globally. Japan won the 2006 and 2009 events before the Dominican Republic took the 2013 title. The United States beat Puerto Rico in the 2017 WBC, then Japan beat the United States in the 2023 WBC when Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout for the final out.

WBC rosters will not be finalized until the weeks leading up to the 2026 WBC. Those are still a long ways off.