Italy returns to the World Baseball Classic in 2026, with a poised roster and major upset potential. 

Italy has competed in all five previous editions of the classic, going back to the inaugural 2006 tournament. They’ve never passed through a WBC without winning at least one game in pool play, and advanced into the second round of play in both 2013 and 2023. Italy lost to the eventual-champion Japan in the 2023 quarterfinals, and finished 8th of the 20 competing teams overall. 

Italian baseball has a somewhat shorter – but just as fascinating – story than some of the other Classic competitors. Touring American teams played exhibition games in Naples, Rome and elsewhere prior to the World Wars, but the sport never took hold. The fascist government of Benito Mussolini outlawed baseball due to its American origins, further pushing back the development of an Italian baseball system. However, the tide of war turned and a broad anti-fascist resistance rose up to support the Allies during the invasion of Italy. With American troops across the peninsula, baseball started to grow once more. Post-war, the Lega Italiana Baseball (Italian Baseball League) was founded and played its first game in Milan on June 27, 1948. It merged with a rival organization, the Italian Baseball Association, to found the Italian Baseball Softball Federation in 1950 – the governing body which still runs baseball in the Italian Republic today. 

The top flight of Italian baseball – and it is a top flight, as the Italians use a system of promotion and relegation – is the Serie A (ITSA). The best ten teams in the 33-team Italian baseball system play in the Serie A, while lower tiers like Serie B contain the remainder. The Serie A is probably somewhere around A-ball in the American minor league classification system, making it a top contender in Europe. The Italian national team, also known as the Azzurri thanks to their Savoy Blue uniforms, has won a king’s ransom worth of titles in the European baseball scene thanks to the Serie A’s strength of competition. Italy has won ten European Championships, and earned the silver medal 17 times. Only the Netherlands have had more success in the competition. Italy has also competed in 12 Intercontinental Cups, 4 Olympic Baseball tournaments and 17 Baseball World Cups – the latter being a now-defunct amateur competition predating the WBC. 

Thanks to the WBC’s rules for player eligibility – namely, a rule stating that players who would be eligible for citizenship even if they do not currently have it are able to compete for a given country – Italy has assembled a very strong, All Star caliber roster for 2026. 

Team Captain Vinnie Pasquantino, long nicknamed the Italian Stallion, played a major role in bringing together what is arguably Italy’s best WBC roster. The Kansas City Royal has played four seasons in Major League Baseball, with a 119 OPS+ and .266 batting average for his career. ‘The Pasquatch’ has hit 70 home runs and driven in 262 runs with a .330 on-base percentage. In 2025, he recorded his first season with 30+ home runs and 100+ RBI, a benchmark for modern players, while playing 160 games and recorded 2.4 Wins Above Replacement (WAR). 

Alongside Pasquantino, the infield is highlighted by top St. Louis Cardinals prospect Thomas Saggese, Mariners utilityman Miles Mastrobuoni, former NL stolen base king Jon Berti, Astros youngster Zach Dezenzo and Chicago White Sox prospect Sam Antonacci, who has already hit a pair of home runs in spring training, both travelling 416 feet. Other members of the roster designated as infielders include High-A Brewers farmhand Andrew Fischer (Milwaukee’s first-round draft pick in 2025 and already a standout) and career-.3/.4/.5 hitter Giaconino Lasaracina. Lasaracina has spent the last three years with Settimo in the ITSA, compiling 127 hits in 91 games alongside 73 RBI, 16 stolen bases and a 1.030 OPS. 

Jac Caglianone, the Florida Gators two-way sensation and single-season home run leader for the university, will anchor the Italian outfield. Caglianone’s two-year cruise through the minor leagues after being drafted by the Kansas City Royals was electric, as he batted .308 with 22 home runs, 86 RBI, 23 doubles and 117 hits across 95 games. He seemed to get better the further up he progressed, with his .357 average in 28 Triple-A games during 2025 dwarfing his .241 clip over 29 High-A games from 2024. In a 62-game debut with the Kansas City Royals, Caglianone hit seven home runs but batted just .157, striking out 52 times. Luckily, the 23-year-old has plenty of time to figure it out, and given his titanic numbers through college and the minors, he’s bound to produce at the big league level with enough reps. Other members of the Italian outfield include Mariners breakout rightfielder Dominic Canzone, Marlins rookie Jakob Marsee, and Double-A prospects Nick Morabito and Dante Nori. 

Primary catching duties will likely be handled by Kyle Teel, whose very strong debut in 2025 went largely unnoticed. In 78 games with the White Sox, Teel slashed .273/.375/.411, drove in 35, hit eight home runs and put up an OPS+ of 121 – impressive for any rookie, even more so for a catcher. Alberto Mineo, who plays for Parma in the ITSA, will back him up.

The pitching staff for Italy is also awash in Major League talent. Aaron Nola, perennial Cy Young contender with the Philadelphia Phillies, will be the team’s ace. He’s backed up by MLB talent including Michael Lorenzen, Adam Ottavino, Greg Weissert, Matt Festa, Gordon Graceffo, Alek Jacob, Sam Adlegheri and Kyle Nicolas. The remainder of the staff includes two pitchers who played in Triple-A last season, two from Double-A and Gabriele Quattrini of the ITSA. 

Francisco Cervelli replaced Mike Piazza as the manager for Team Italy in 2026. It will be his first time managing a roster in organized baseball, as far as I can tell. Cervelli was a World Series Champion with the 2009 New York Yankees, and played thirteen years in the Majors as a catcher. He hit 41 home runs in that time, compiled 605 hits and logged a career OPS+ of 101. This WBC will be just as much of a proving ground for the untested manager as it will be for many of the Italian players.  

Best-case Scenario: 

3-1, advancing from pool play and the quarterfinals, losing in the semifinals. The Italians’ biggest disadvantage is simply their bad luck in pool placement. While Great Britain and Brazil should be easy opponents, they are also stuck with the United States and Mexico – two of the four teams in the 2023 semifinals, and both with improved rosters compared to their last Classic appearances. For Italy to advance, they’d have to steal a win from one of those two, and hope that they hold tiebreakers over both to allow them into the knockout stage. If they can do that, I actually think they’d have a solid chance of beating the Pool A winner, whether that is Puerto Rico, Canada, or Cuba. However, I think that reaching the semifinals is probably the Italians’ ceiling. This would still represent a major success for Italian baseball, though, and would likely be remembered as one of the most unique runs in WBC history.

Worst-case Scenario: 

1-3, failing to advance but qualifying for the next WBC. I cannot see the Italians going winless in pool play, especially with two games against Great Britain and Brazil. But a disorganized team with an inexperienced manager (who is showing it under pressure in this scenario) is potentially perfect for three other teams in the pool to take advantage of. I doubt it will happen, but bigger surprises have been seen between the lines during past Classics. 

The Likely Scenario:

2-2, failing to advance but qualifying for the next WBC. Once again playing the averages in Pool B, the Italians have very strong odds against the Brits and Brazilians, but far longer odds against the United States and Mexico. I think that this Pool might be the most predictable in the WBC, and I’d guess that Italy will end up right in the middle of the group. 

Batter to Watch: 

Kyle Teel – Teel is what I would consider a true hidden gem. The Chicago White Sox catcher of the future has tons of upside, as discussed earlier. Wherever Teel has been, be it in the Northwoods League, the ACC, the minors, and now the Majors, he has flat-out hit. The upcoming 2026 MLB season will be a ‘prove it’ campaign for Teel, and getting off on the right foot in the WBC will be a great first step on the path to consistent production.