The 2026 World Baseball Classic runs for Brazil, Nicaragua, and Czechia have concluded. All three countries left the tournament without winning a game, but each had its share of notable moments.

Each will need to qualify again for the next WBC.

Brazil’s return to the WBC for the first time since 2013 proved to be largely disappointing. The country remains winless all-time in the tournament, going 0-4 in pool play this year.

Brazil’s roster was something of a family affair, with several sons of former players in the mix.

Manny Ramirez mashed 555 home runs over a 19-year career in MLB (plus 8 more in a lone season in the CPBL). Manny’s son, Lucas Ramirez, was a 17th-round pick by the Angels in the 2024 Draft out of high school. 2025 marked his first professional season, and Ramirez hit .266/.356/.417 with 3 HR in 226 PA. The outfielder had a pair of homers (his only hits in the tournament) against the United States: a solo home run off of Logan Webb and a solo home run off of Gabe Speier. At 20 years and 49 days, he’s the youngest player with a multi-homer game in WBC history. Ramirez also had a pair of defensive assists against Italy (throwing out runners at third base and home). He finished the tournament 2-for-11 (.182/.400/.727) with 2 HR, 2 RBI, and 3 BB.

José Contreras posted a 4.57 ERA (100 ERA+) over 1173.0 IP during an 11-year career after defecting from Cuba (where he had already played 10 seasons in the Cuban National Series). Contreras’s son, Joseph Contreras, is still a high school senior in Georgia. The 17-year-old right-hander has a verbal commitment to Vanderbilt University in the fall, but he’s already a favorite to go early in this summer’s draft (MLB Pipeline has him at No. 47 on their pre-draft rankings).

Contreras made a pair of appearances for Brazil in the tournament. He worked 1.1 IP against the US, allowing a run on two hits and walking three. He managed to throw a 97 mph fastball past Aaron Judge before inducing a bat-shattering ground ball double-play to get out of a jam. He also worked 1.1 IP against Great Britain, allowing two runs on two hits, walking three, and striking out a pair. That’s a 10.13 ERA in 2.2 IP with 4 H, 3 ER, 6 BB, and 2 SO.

Dante Bichette spent 14 seasons in the major leagues, hitting .299/.336/.499 (107 OPS+) while making four All-Star appearances. Bichette’s two sons followed in his baseball footsteps. Bo Bichette just signed a three-year, $120 million deal this offseason to join the Mets in free agency. He’ll enter 2026 with a .294/.337/.469 (121 OPS+) line during his seven-year career.

Dante Bichette Jr. was a surprising (he wasn’t highly touted as a likely top-of-the-draft talent) 1st-round pick in the 2011 Draft out of high school (51st overall). He spent 8 seasons in the minor leagues (7 in the Yankees’ system, 1 with the Nationals), batting .254/.331/.365 in 3220 PA with 46 HR and 604 SO. He’d play two more seasons in independent leagues before retiring after the 2019 season. Bichette’s only baseball experience since has come with Brazil during WBC qualifying.

The 33-year-old stood out among his teammates at the WBC, but not for his standout play on the field. While his teammates looked like pros, he played in two games (sitting out the final two contests) with a wide-open jersey, necklaces hanging out, and his dyed-green hair in full chaos. More concerning, he looked both overmatched in the field and like he wasn’t taking his place on the club seriously, with poor swings at the plate (he was 0-for-6 with 4 SO) and low effort in the field (multiple playable balls got past him).

Other notables:

Leonardo Reginatto is considered among Brazil’s baseball legends, having appeared on the national team in every international tournament the country has played in. He’s set to retire following the WBC, in which he was 2-for-11 (.182/.308/.182).

Osvaldo Carvalho, who works a full-time construction job during the days and plays semi-pro baseball in Brazil at night, was 0-for-11 with 7 SO.

Eric Pardinho, who was once a highly-touted Blue Jays prospect before Tommy John surgery ruined his arm, was shelled in his lone outing against Mexico, allowing 8 ER on 10 H, a walk, and a home run (to Jarren Duran) in 3.0 IP. The 25-year-old became a free agent after the 2025 season and signed a deal to play in Mexico in 2026.

Nicaragua qualified for the WBC for the second straight time, but once again failed to come away with a single victory in the tournament. The club swung big in assembling this year’s roster, starting by luring future Hall of Fame manager Dusty Baker into the dugout to manage the team. Still, they finished 0-4 in pool play:

Nicaragua’s two starters with MLB experience both pitched well in their lone outings. 14-year veteran Erasmo Ramírez allowed a run on 5 H with a BB and 2 SO in 5.0 IP against the Netherlands. Brewers right-hander Carlos Rodriguez allowed a run on 2 H with 2 BB and 4 SO in 4.0 IP against Israel.

Mets infielder Mark Vientos was easily the biggest name offensive player on the roster, but he was 2-for-15 (.133/.188/.133) with 6 SO in the tournament.

Outfielder Ismael Munguia was Nicaragua’s lone offensive bright spot, going 6-for-14 (.429/.529/.429) with an RBI and a walk. Munguia spent 2025 with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate before signing a minor league contract with the Blue Jays this offseason.

Infielder Jeter Downs, a 2017 1st-round pick by the Reds who was involved in two major trades early in his career (to LAD for Matt Kemp, then to BOS for Mookie Betts), has spent the last two seasons playing in Japan’s NPB. Still just 27 years old, Downs was 3-for-9 (.333/.400/.778) with a double, a home run, and 2 RBI.

It’s hard not to see the fun story behind Czechia’s baseball success. The team became instant international fan favorites during the 2023 World Baseball Classic — defeating China and then giving Japan a tough matchup — despite having a roster of players who worked regular day jobs (including a fireman, a teacher, a neurologist, and others, as MLB.com’s Michael Clair has written about¹).

It was always going to be an uphill battle for Czechia in this year’s tournament, but the team failed to win a single game during pool play.

Eric Sogard was the lone MLB player on the 2023 roster, but an injury kept him from returning this year. Orioles infielder Terrin Vavra was the only player with MLB experience on the team this time. Vavra was 3-for-13 (.231/.286/.538) with a double, a home run, and 3 RBI (the only player on the roster with more than one).

Marek Chlup, who became the first Czech-born player to sign with an NPB team last year (though his season was cut short after just two games due to a broken wrist), has signed to play in Mexico in 2026. The center fielder was 3-for-10 (.300/.500/.300) with 3 BB.

Ondřej Satoria, the electrician who struck out Shohei Ohtani during the 2023 WBC, has said that this tournament will be his last. He made a pair of impressive appearances for Czechia, working 3.2 IP with a H, BB, and 3 SO out of the bullpen against Australia before starting the final game against Japan, with 4.2 IP of shutout baseball with 3 more strikeouts (including Kazuma Okamoto).