It's been a long three years, but the World Baseball Classic is finally back.
The 2023 edition had everybody buzzing, with Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout deciding an electric final between Japan and the United States. What began as a relative afterthought on the sport's calendar becamea must-see event that everybody wanted to be a part of. And now, just about everyone will, as 2026 brings by far the most talent the WBC has ever seen (no matter how hard various insurance companiesmight try to prove otherwise).
You won't want to miss a single pitch. And that's why we're here to help, with the full WBC schedule as well as start times and how to watch every game in the States.
When does WBC baseball start?
The first game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic is set for 10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 4, asfeature Chinese Taipei and Australia will open up Pool C at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. The tournament will run through the championship game on Tuesday, March 17.
The U.S. will play its first game of the WBC on Friday, March 6, with a Pool B opener against Brazil at 8 p.m. ET at Daikin Park in Houston.
2026 World Baseball Classic format
If you've watched the FIFA World Cup or any other sort of international tournament, you'll likely be familiar with how the WBC is organized. The competition is divided between two stages: First comes pool play, with eight teams advancing to the single-elimination knockout rounds.
Pool play
20 teams in all qualified for the World Baseball Classic this year, and those 20 have been divided into four pools of five teams each. Each team will play the other four teams in its pool exactly once, round-robin style, with the top two teams in each pool then advancing to the knockout rounds. The four pools are below; Team USA is in Pool B, along with Mexico, Italy, Great Britain and Brazil.
Pool A (San Juan, PR)
- Puerto Rico
- Cuba
- Canada
- Panama
- Colombia
Pool B (Houston, Tex.)
- United States
- Mexico
- Italy
- Great Britain
- Brazil
Pool C (Tokyo, Japan)
- Japan
- Australia
- South Korea
- Czechia
- Chinese Taipei
Pool D (Miami, Fla.)
- Venezuela
- Dominican Republic
- Netherlands
- Israel
- Nicaragua
Knockout stage
From there, the top two finishers in each of the four pools will move on to the knockout rounds, which begin with the quarterfinals on March 13-14. From there, it's good, old-fashioned single-elimination baseball, from the semifinals on March 15-16 through to the championship game on March 17.
Full 2026 World Baseball Classic schedule (all times Eastern)
March 4
10 p.m.: Chinese Taipei vs. Australia, FS1
March 5
5 a.m.: Czechia vs. Korea, FS1
10 p.m.: Australia vs. Czechia, FS1
March 6
5 a.m.: Japan vs. Chinese Taipei, FS1
11 a.m.: Cuba vs. Panama, FS2
12 p.m.: Netherlands vs. Venezuela, Tubi
1 p.m.: Mexico vs. Great Britain, FS1
6 p.m.: Puerto Rico vs. Colombia, FS1
7 p.m.: Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic, FS2
8 p.m.: USA vs. Brazil, FOX
10 p.m.: Chinese Taipei vs. Czechia, FS2
March 7
5 a.m.: Korea vs. Japan, FS1
11 a.m.: Colombia vs. Canada, FS2
12 p.m.: Nicaragua vs. Netherlands, Tubi
1 p.m.: Brazil vs. Italy, FOX Sports App
6 p.m.: Panama vs. Puerto Rico, FS1
7 p.m.: Israel vs. Venezuela, FS2
8 p.m.: Great Britain vs. USA, FOX
10 p.m.: Chinese Taipei vs. Korea, FS2
March 8
6 a.m.: Australia vs. Japan, FS1
12 p.m.: Colombia vs. Cuba, FS2
12 p.m.: Netherlands vs. Dominican Republic, FOX
1 p.m.: Great Britain vs. Italy, Tubi
7 p.m.: Nicaragua vs. Israel, Tubi
7 p.m.: Panama vs. Canada, FS2
8 p.m.: Brazil vs. Mexico, FS1
March 9
6 a.m.: Korea vs. Australia, FS1
12 p.m.: Dominican Republic vs. Israel, FS1
12 p.m.: Colombia vs. Panama, FS2
1 p.m.: Brazil vs. Great Britain, Tubi
7 p.m.: Cuba vs. Puerto Rico, FS1
7 p.m.: Venezuela vs. Nicaragua, FS2
8 p.m.: Mexico vs. USA, FOX
March 10
6 a.m.: Czechia vs. Japan, FS1
7 p.m.: Israel vs. Netherlands, FOX Sports App
7 p.m.: Canada vs. Puerto Rico, Tubi
9 p.m.: Italy vs. USA, FS1
March 11
3 p.m.: Canada vs. Cuba, FS2
7 p.m.: Italy vs. Mexico, Tubi
8 p.m.: Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela, FS1
March 13
6:30 p.m.: Quarterfinal 1 (runner-up Pool C vs. winner Pool D), FS2
8 p.m.: Quarterfinal 2 (runner-up Pool A vs. winner Pool B), FOX
March 14
3 p.m.: Quarterfinal 3 (runner-up Pool B vs. winner Pool A), FS1
9 p.m.: Quarterfinal 4 (runner-up Pool D vs. winner Pool C), FOX
March 15
8 p.m.: Semifinal 1, FS1
March 16
8 p.m.: Semifinal 2, FS1
March 17
8 p.m.: Final, FOX
How to watch the 2026 World Baseball Classic
Every WBC game will be broadcast in the U.S. on the FOX family of networks.
- Dates:Â Wednesday, March 4-Tuesday, March 17
- TV Channel:Â FOX Sports
- Streaming:Â FOX Sports App, Tubi and FOX One
FOX holds U.S. broadcast rights for every World Baseball Classic game this year, with games spread across FOX proper, FS1 and FS2. (Most of Team USA's games will be carried on FOX, although the final pool play game against Italy which will air on FS1.) You can also stream all the action on FOX Sports Go and the FOX Sports app with a valid cable subscription.
For those looking to stream the tournament, you can do so on the FOX Sports app by entering a cable log-in. If you don't have a cable log-in, worry not: You can also stream FOX, FS1 and FS2 through live-streaming options like Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV, and Fubo offers a seven-day free trial for new subscribers.