2026 WBC News: Team USA Names Leadership Group

In just under 11 months, the 2026 World Baseball Classic will kick off worldwide. Team USA failed to capture their second-straight WBC title in 2023 but will look to do so with a familiar face leading the bench. On April 10, USA Baseball confirmed the general manager and bench manager for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

USA Baseball named former Marlins president of baseball operations Mike Hill as the team’s GM for 2026.

Hill, currently working for Major League Baseball, was a longtime executive in the Florida/Miami organization. He oversaw the team’s run to the NLDS in the shortened 2020 season and the development of players like Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Fernandez, and J.T. Realmuto during his lengthy tenure, in multiple roles, with the Marlins.

Additionally, former Major Leaguer Mark DeRosa will return as Team USA’s manager. DeRosa managed the team in 2023, a group that made it to the World Baseball Classic final but ultimately lost to Japan.

The last Team USA team in the World Baseball Classic was filled with starts, from a hitting standpoint. Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Pete Alonso, Trea Turner, and Bobby Witt Jr. were among just some of the names featured on the roster.

However, USA’s pitching — never a strength thanks to the difficulty to get high-end arms to commit — was filled with veteran arms like Lance Lynn, Miles Mikolas, Adam Wainwright, and Merrill Kelly, all of were Major League arms but not among the top-tier options.

Team USA will open up group play in Houston in Group 8. Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, and Mexico are also in that grouo.

The United States isn’t the only country to name their leadership brass for 2026. The Dominican Republic will have Albert Pujols, who managed in the Dominican Winter League this past winter, as the bench leader for Team DR next March.