The World Baseball Classic has delivered some incredible moments if you’re a baseball fan. The no-look tag by Javy Baez on Nelson Cruz. Or the home run robbery by Adam Jones to his then Baltimore Orioles teammate but Team Dominican Republic rival, Manny Machado. What about the most recent WBC, ending with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim teammates Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout facing off against each other in the final at-bat of the championship and tournament, and Ohtani getting the best of Trout for a strikeout and a Samurai Japan victory? For Japan, it was their third such victory in the six WBC’s we’ve had the pleasure to witness. So what moments could we see this time? Here are three predictions about what we could see in the 2026 WBC.

PREDICTION #1: TEAM USA GOES UNDEFEATED

What’s been the most intriguing thing about the previous World Baseball Classics has been that the team from the United States has won one tournament. The idea of the only team FILLED with Major Leaguers not being able to be the final team standing, but one time, is somewhat mind-blowing. Especially when you consider some of the names that have donned the Team USA jersey. Ken Griffey Jr, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, David Wright, Dustin Pedroia, and, of course, the aforementioned Trout, amongst many other greats, have played for Team USA, and yet they have a losing record in terms of winning the overall tournament.

So what’s changed with the 2026 WBC team? Namely, the exuberance of the players involved. From Aaron Judge to Bryce Harper, to Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal, some of the absolute best crop of talent that the USA has ever offered to the WBC.

PREDICTION #2: TEAM VENEZUELA WILL BE MORE COMPETITIVE THAN PEOPLE THINK

Team Venezuela is a sleeper candidate in this year’s WBC. There is a plethora of Major League talent on the Venezuelan team. The pool in which Venezuela finds itself will likely be the most competitive pool in the tournament. For Venezuela to be successful, it’s going to come down to how the team lines up its pitching. Venezuela has a very difficult road to be the team that comes out victorious in the entire tournament, expecting that they would need to go through Team Dominican Republic, Team Japan, and Team Korea (potentially amongst others) to advance to the finals of the tournament. That being said, Venezuela can be seen as an interesting potential team for success.

PREDICTION #3: BRYCE HARPER PARLAYS A GREAT WBC IN AN MVP-CALIBER 2026 SEASON

Bryce Harper has been someone who’s been discussed a lot throughout the offseason. And not always for positive reasons. However, if Bryce Harper can help Team USA claim their second WBC crown and use the tournament as a springboard into another “elite” season and an MVP-caliber performance. Harper has always lived up to the big moments, and it doesn’t get any bigger than helping Team USA win the 2026 World Baseball Classic.