Japan Releases Roster for Upcoming World Baseball Classic

Manager Hirokazu Ibata Announces Preliminary 29-Player Squad
The manager of the Japanese national baseball team, Hirokazu Ibata, today announced his preliminary roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic, which begins on March 5 in Tokyo. The strategist has already revealed 29 of the 30 players he will take to the tournament.

Star-Studded Pitching Staff Led by Ohtani
The group is led by Shohei Ohtani, who is joined by pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tomoyuki Sugano, Hiromi Ito, Koki Kitayama, Atsuki Taneichi, Hirito Takahashi, Kaima Taira, Yuki Matsumoto, Daichi Ishii, Taisei Ota, Yusei Kikuchi, Yuki Matsui, Hiroya Miyagi, and Ryuhei Sotani.

Position Players Announced
The catchers are Seishiro Sakamoto, Kenya Wakatsuki, and Yuhei Nakamura. The infielders are Munetaka Murakami, Shugo Maki, Kazuma Okamoto, Teruaki Sato, Kaito Kozono, and Sosuke Genda. The outfielders are Seiya Suzuki, Shota Morishita, Ukyo Shuto, Kensuke Kondo, and Taisei Makihara.

Final Roster and MLB Presence
The final tournament roster will be announced on February 3. It is most likely that Ibata will select one more pitcher to complete the list.

The team features a record number of eight players from Major League Baseball: Shohei Ohtani, Yusei Kikuchi, Tomoyuki Sugano, Yuki Matsui, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Seiya Suzuki, along with Munetaka Murakami, who signed with the White Sox, and Kazuma Okamoto, who reached an agreement with the Blue Jays.

Defending Champions Bring Experience
For this 2026 edition, Japan has 15 members from the previous championship team, providing great depth to the roster that will seek to repeat its 2023 crown.