The Czech Republic returns to the World Baseball Classic in 2026, having won the hearts of baseball fans worldwide with its Cinderella story in the previous tournament.
Baseball in Czechia, one of the two states which formerly composed Czechoslovakia until 1992, is a minor sport. Softball is more popular than its parent sport in the country and neither are considered among the national pastimes of the Czech Republic. Because Czechoslovakia was long under the boot of the Soviet Union as part of the Eastern Bloc – an alliance of Soviet satellite states under effectively puppet governments – baseball was seen as an American sport and was long suppressed. The Cuban-Soviet alliance kept the sport from being banned, and in 1987 the Czechoslovak national team won three games out of four against the Soviet Union in Tbilisi, Georgia.
After independence from Soviet domination and the split between Czechia and Slovakia, the Czech baseball scene grew. The Czech Extraliga was formed – replacing a Czechoslovak league that had begun play in 1979 – and now boasts eight teams in its top division and live coverage of every game. It is from the ranks of this league that the national team draws its talent pool. Czechia stunned the baseball world, especially in Europe, by finishing as runner-up in the 2022 World Baseball Classic Qualifier in Regensburg, Germany. They recovered from a 21-7 thrashing at the hands of Spain by advancing via the double-elimination bracket, setting up a rematch against the Spaniards for a spot in the 2023 Classic. They took the game 3-1.
In 2023, they were placed in the Tokyo Dome pool alongside Australia, South Korea, China and Japan. The Czechs stunned onlookers for the second time in as many years by defeating China in their opener and holding their own against Japan and Korea. While the final scores reflected the superiority of the East Asian powerhouses, the Czechs’ fighting spirit earned them the respect and support of Samurai Japan. Czech pitcher and electrician Ondrej Satoria famously struck out Shohei Ohtani on three pitches, including a devastating final toss that made the greatest player of the generation look like a high school freshman. After the Czechs were eliminated from advancement contention in their finale against Australia, Ohtani was seen wearing a Czech Republic baseball cap – one he apparently took with him to Miami for the 2023 WBC semifinal and championship games. While the Czechs finished with a 1-3 record in their inaugural trip to the Classic, they both made their country proud and made the baseball world take notice. And thanks to beating China, which went 0-4, they qualified for the 2026 edition of the tournament.
Ondřej Satoria returns to the Czech team for 2026, sporting a 2.86 career ERA in more than 900 innings of work. He has tallied 746 strikeouts, earned a 74-31 record and hurled 21 complete games with the Ostrava Arrows. Satoria is also a longtime representative of Czechia abroad, having pitched in the 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2024 U-23 Baseball World Cups. In 2021, he pitched 11.2 innings with a 2.40 ERA.
Draci Brno (Brno Dragons) is the Czech Republic Yankees, with 26 titles in 33 years since the league was created. Among the team’s most prolific stars is two-way player Martin Schneider, who simultaneously boasts an ERA of 1.94 in 441.2 innings pitched and a .359/.448/.585 slash line through 1,673 at-bats. Schneider will be pitching primarily in the Classic, having not seen an at-bat in international competition since the 2016 WBC Qualifiers. In three Qualifiers and the 2023 Classic, Schneider has pitched 21.1 innings with a 2.54 ERA and 10 strikeouts. It does not appear that Schneider has pitched in the Czech Extraliga since 2023, though statistics are hard to come by. Pitching for Skokani Olomouc (Olomouc Jumpers) that season, Schneider logged 14 innings with a 1.93 ERA and 17 strikeouts. He’ll need that sort of dominance against a stacked Pool C in the Tokyo Dome.
Doing much of the catching for Czechia will be UNC-Wilmington backstop Martin Zelenka. Zelenka was a longtime stalwart in Extraliga play, with more than 800 at-bats since his debut in 2016. Zelenka has a career slash line of .259/.328/.403, hitting 28 home runs and notching 214 hits. At UNC-Wilmington, Zelenka has been stunningly consistent with his domestic league performance, batting an identical .259, recording a .355 on-base percentage and a .444 slugging percentage. In 41 games, he has hit five home runs, driven in 19 and recorded 48 total bases.
A major absence from the Czech roster in 2026 is Eric Sogard. An eleven-year veteran of the Majors who spent time with Oakland, Milwaukee, Toronto, Tampa Bay and Chicago, Sogard brought a unique presence, insight and leadership to Czechia’s roster in 2023. In that WBC, Sogard batted .438 with an .875 OPS, recording an RBI to go along with seven hits.
Some star power may instead come from Marek Chlup. After struggling to find playing time at NC State, the 27-year-old Turnov native played his final three collegiate seasons with North Greenville University. The NGU Trailblazers won the Division II National Championship in 2022, Chlup’s first season as a member of the squad. He was brilliant that year, slashing .323/.446/.627 with 51 hits, 12 home runs, 33 walks and 45 runs scored. He batted .390 and .344 over his next two seasons, totalling 38 home runs and 174 RBI. After a pair of seasons totalling 114 games in the independent American Association (where Chlup slashed .275/.364/.480 and hit 16 home runs), the Czech right fielder signed a contract with the Yomiuri Giants of NPB. While he played well in the Japanese minor league, he only saw five at-bats in NPB proper before injuring his hand. Currently, he is signed with the Mexican League’s Caliente de Durango.
The Czechs will be managed by Pavel Chadim. He has held the post since the 2010 Intercontinental Cup, and has also managed the 2012 U-21 European Championship and the 2014 U-21 Baseball World Cup. The Brno native coached his hometown’s Little League team in the 2013 Little League World Series (LLWS), the first Czech team to reach the LLWS. At the 2025 European Championship, the Czech national team won a bronze medal, the first medal in its history.
Best-case Scenario:
1-3, qualifying for the next WBC but failing to advance. The Czechs are matched up against Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei/Taiwan, and Australia. Unfortunately for the fan favorites, they are vastly overmatched by this competition. Even so, Chinese Taipei had a disappointing Classic in 2023, and the Czechs’ game against the Australians was close – Czechia might be able to manage a win against one of the pair, and stave off relegation back into the Qualifiers.
Worst-case Scenario:
0-4, failing to qualify for the next WBC. A worst-case scenario is,unfortunately for Czech fans, hard to parse out from the most likely scenario. Similar to Brazil, the worst-case scenario for the Czech Republic would see them lose all of their games by significant margins and vastly underperform statistically compared to 2023.
The Likely Scenario:
0-4, failing to qualify for the next WBC. As much as it pains me to say, I struggle to see the Czechs winning a game in the remarkable Tokyo Dome pool – their competition is just too strong. Their best odds are against Australia, but the Aussies have a better team both on paper and based on their previous meeting; the respective playing cores of Australia and Czechia are largely the same as their 2023 iterations. If Czechia can eke out a win against Australia, it would be a huge statement about the nation’s baseball culture. Unfortunately, I don’t see it as a very likely outcome.
Batter to Watch:
Martin Mužík – Mužík Magic was a huge part of Czechia’s 2023 WBC run, with the České Budějovice native hitting a huge home run in the team’s first game against China that helped to seal a victory. He has already hit three homers in Qualifiers and WBC competition, and has hit 98 in his Extraliga career. With a lifetime .667 slugging percentage, his pop is a major part of the Czech Republic’s plan for WBC glory. It’s no wonder he was named team captain for the 2026 Classic.
Pitcher to Watch:
Michal Kovala – A collegiate pitcher in the United States who was born in Ostrava, Czechia, Kovala is currently pitching for the Chipola College Indians. As of writing, Kovala has pitched 15 innings in what is currently a landmark 24-1 season for the team. His ERA stands at 3.00, with only five runs allowed and 21 strikeouts recorded. The WBC could be a great springboard for Kovala – who originally pitched at Georgia Tech in 2024 – to jump into higher competition.