World Baseball Classic pools finalized, Team Canada in 'group of death'
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The bracket for the 2026 World Baseball Classic has been released and Team Canada finds itself in a tough spot. The National Team is one of five in Group A, which is the tournament's 'group of death'.
The other four teams in the group, which will play their games at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, are Puerto Rico, Cuba, Panama, and Colombia.
Team USA, which will be managed by former Blue Jays infielder Mark DeRosa, will have a slightly easier time, as they match up against Italy, Mexico, Brazil, and Great Britain in Group B.
Group C might be the easiest group of all as reigning champions Japan might just go undefeated against Australia, Korea, Czech Republic, and Chinese Taipei.
Group D consists of Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Israel, and Nicaragua.
Canada has never made it past the Group Stage since the World Baseball Classic began in 2006, though they have been in successful in qualifying for every tournament. The 2026 Classic will be the sixth iteration of the tournament.
In 2023, they finished they finished third in Pool C - which also consisted of Mexico, USA, Great Britain, and Colombia. As they finished within the Top Four of their group, they gained automatic entry into next year's tournament.
Rosters have not yet been announced but the team looks to be managed once again by former Blue Jays catcher Ernie Whitt, who has been in charge of the team since 2004 and has lead them to two gold medals at the Pan-Am Games.
The tournament begins on March 6th, 2026.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 11 | 84 ANSWERS World Baseball Classic pools finalized, Team Canada in 'group of death' How will Team Canada do at the World Baseball Classic? | ||
| They won't get out of the group stage | 29 | 34.5 % |
| Quarterfinal or semi-final | 36 | 42.9 % |
| They'll lose in the championship round | 9 | 10.7 % |
| They'll win the whole thing | 10 | 11.9 % |
| List of polls | ||