60+ NJCAA Alumni to Compete in 2026 World Baseball Classic
Charlotte, NC – 67 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) alumni and current student-athletes will compete in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. The World Baseball Classic runs from Wednesday, March 4 to Tuesday, March 17, beginning with pool play and culminating in a winner-take-all final game. Teams are divided into four pools of five squads. Pool play games will take place in four locations: Tokyo, Japan; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Houston, Texas; and Miami, Florida.
In the Numbers
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45 NJCAA member institutions are represented in the tournament
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The breakdown of NJCAA individuals is 47 athletes and 20 coaches
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Four current NJCAA student-athletes are rostered; all of them are representing Czechia
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Czechia has 12 NJCAA alumni on the roster
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14 of the 20 rosters include at least one NJCAA alumnus
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13 individuals were selected in the MLB Draft directly from their two-year college
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Chipola College (FL) leads the way with four alumni participating
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Current NJCAA Region 8 schools produced 19 participants, leading all NJCAA regions
Names to Know
Widely regarded as one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, Albert Pujols, was named Manager for the Dominican Republic squad at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Pujols played at MCC-Maple Woods (MO) in 1999 before he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals, beginning his 22-year professional career.
A former MLB Draft first overall pick, Bryce Harper, was selected by the Washington Nationals in the 2010 draft out of the College of Southern Nevada. Harper won the 2010 Golden Spikes Award after his freshman season in which he hit .443 with 98 RBI and a Southern Nevada-record 31 home runs. The 2026 World Baseball Classic will be Harper's first with the United States.
Andy Pettitte was originally drafted by the New York Yankees in 1990 but opted to play baseball at San Jacinto College (TX). The Yankees retained Pettitte's rights, and he signed with New York in 1991. Pettitte's decorated career includes five MLB World Series titles and three All-Star nods before he retired in 2013. Pettitte will serve as the Pitching Coach for Team USA.
Fellow New York Yankee, Jorge Posada, jumpstarted his career from the junior college ranks at Calhoun Community College (AL). After two seasons at Calhoun, Posada was selected in the 1990 MLB Draft by the Yankees, starting a 17-year professional career. Posada was a five-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger Award winner while notching five World Series titles. Posada was named the Assistant Hitting Coach for Italy at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
The hero of Galveston College (TX)'s historic 1994 season, José Rosado, was chosen as the Pitching Coach for Puerto Rico at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Rosado was named the Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Pitcher at the 1994 NJCAA Division I Baseball World Series after leading the Whitecaps to the title in the school's third year of intercollegiate athletic competition. Rosado was drafted from Galveston by the Kansas City Royals in the 1994 MLB Draft and became a two-time All-Star before his playing career was cut short due to injury.
Left-handed pitcher, Rio Gomez, joined the Mesa Community College (AZ) baseball team as a walk-on in 2014 after he was previously cut from his high school baseball team. Gomez then joined the University of Arizona as a preferred walk-on and pitched in the 2016 College World Series where the Wildcats finished as runners-up. The lefty was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 2017 MLB Draft. Gomez is making his second appearance at the World Baseball Classic with Colombia.
Infielder, Sam Antonacci, was named the 2023 NJCAA Division II Baseball Player of the Year after a stellar sophomore season with Heartland Community College (IL). After a successful junior college career, Antonacci transferred to Coastal Carolina where he continued to shine. After his junior year with the Chanticleers, Antonacci was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 5th round of the 2024 MLB draft and will participate with Italy for this year's World Baseball Classic.
Kevin Kelly won the 2011 NJCAA DII Baseball World Series with Western Oklahoma State and continued his college baseball career at Southwestern Oklahoma State. After his collegiate career, Kelly played professionally in the Netherlands, Italy, and Mexico. He has pitched for the Netherlands national team since 2010, including the 2017 and 2023 editions of the World Baseball Classic.
Zach Graefser played at St. Louis Community College-Meramec, then coached there for eight years. Graefser then became pitching coordinator for Great Britian baseball and also serves as the Europe & Africa Academies Consultant at Major League Baseball, responsible for the EDGE Camps run across Europe as well as the Cadet Camps and Elite Development Camps held at Farnham Park with the MLB London Series. He was a member of Great Britain's coaching staff at the 2023 World Baseball Classic and returns as an Assistant Pitching Coach in 2026.
The listing below compiled by the NJCAA National Office is composed of NJCAA current or former student-athletes competing in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. If you know of a current or former student-athlete who will be competing in the 2026 World Baseball Classic that is not listed, please send an email to media@njcaa.org.
| NJCAA Representation at the 2026 World Baseball Classic | |||||
| NAME | NJCAA INSTITUTION | POSITION | COUNTRY | ||
| George Callil | McLennan (TX) | INF | Australia | ||
| Robbie Glendinning | North Iowa Area | INF | Australia | ||
| Andrew Graham | Clarendon (TX) | 3B Coach | Australia | ||
| Kieren Hall | Three Rivers (MO) | RHP | Australia | ||
| Ky Hampton | Southeastern (IA) | RHP | Australia | ||
| Josh Hendrickson | Ranger (TX) & Barton (KS) | LHP | Australia | ||
| Cooper Morgan | Walters State (TN) | LHP | Australia | ||
| Mitch Neunborn | North Iowa Area | RHP | Australia | ||
| Stubby Clap | Paris JC (TX) | 3B Coach | Canada | ||
| Indigo Diaz | Iowa Western | RHP | Canada | ||
| Liam Hicks | Mineral Area (MO) | C | Canada | ||
| Russell Martin | Chipola (FL) | 1B Coach | Canada | ||
| Jordan Procyshen | Northeastern (CO) | Bullpen Catcher | Canada | ||
| Abraham Toro | Seminole State (OK) | INF | Canada | ||
| Ernie Whitt | Macomb (MI) | Manager | Canada | ||
| Matt Wilkinson | Central Arizona | LHP | Canada | ||
| Jared Young | Connors State (OK) | OF | Canada | ||
| Pedro Garcia | Southeastern (IA) | RHP | Colombia | ||
| Rio Gomez | Mesa (AZ) | LHP | Colombia | ||
| Jeff Barto | Western Nevada | LHP | Czechia | ||
| Filip Capka | Wake Tech (NC) | RHP | Czechia | ||
| Martin Cervinka | Wake Tech (NC) | INF | Czechia | ||
| Ryan Johnson | Crowder (MO) & Southern Idaho | INF | Czechia | ||
| Filip Kollmann | Arizona Western | RHP | Czechia | ||
| Michal Kovala | Chipola (FL) | RHP | Czechia | ||
| Martin Muzik | Wake Tech (NC) | INF | Czechia | ||
| Jan Pospisil | Pitt (NC) | INF | Czechia | ||
| Michal Sindelka | Chipola (FL) | OF | Czechia | ||
| Ondrej Vank | Northeastern (CO) | RHP | Czechia | ||
| Martin Zelenka | Pitt (NC) | C | Czechia | ||
| Petr Zyma | Redlands (OK) | Bench Coach | Czechia | ||
| Placido Polanco | Miami Dade (FL) | Bench Coach | Dominican Republic | ||
| Albert Pujols | MCC-Maple Woods (MO) | Manager | Dominican Republic | ||
| Donovan Benoit | Santa Fe (FL) | RHP | Great Britain | ||
| Albert Cartwright | Polk State (FL) | Asst. Coach | Great Britain | ||
| Chavez Fernander | Polk State (FL) | RHP | Great Britain | ||
| Zach Graefser | St. Louis-Meramec (MO) | Asst. Pitching Coach | Great Britain | ||
| Ivan Johnson | Chipola (FL) | INF | Great Britain | ||
| Antonio Knowles | Florida SouthWestern State | RHP | Great Britain | ||
| Jeff Salazar | Connors State (OK) | 3B Coach | Great Britain | ||
| Carlos Lequerica | Miami Dade (FL) | RHP | Israel | ||
| Zach Levenson | Seminole State (FL) | OF | Israel | ||
| Assaf Lowengart | SUNY Sullivan (NY) | OF | Israel | ||
| Ben Rosengard | McLennan (TX) | INF | Israel | ||
| Sam Antonacci | Heartland (IL) | INF | Italy | ||
| Dylan DeLucia | Northwest Florida State | RHP | Italy | ||
| Frank Menechino | Gulf Coast State (FL) | Hitting Coach | Italy | ||
| Lipso Nava | Miami Dade (FL) | 3B Coach | Italy | ||
| Jorge Posada | Calhoun (AL) | Asst. Hitting Coach | Italy | ||
| Alex Carrillo | Pima (AZ) | RHP | Mexico | ||
| Gerardo Reyes | Galveston (TX) | RHP | Mexico | ||
| Dayson Croes | Southeastern (IA) | OF | Netherlands | ||
| Kevin Kelly | Western Oklahoma State | RHP | Netherlands | ||
| Justin Morales | Tallahassee State (FL) | RHP | Netherlands | ||
| Randolph Oduber | Western Oklahoma State | 1B Coach | Netherlands | ||
| Delano Selassa | Arizona Western | OF | Netherlands | ||
| Evert-Jan 't Hoen | Indian River State (FL) | Bench Coach | Netherlands | ||
| Dan Firova | Coastal Bend (TX) | Bullpen Coach | Nicaragua | ||
| Carlos Rodriguez | Florida SouthWestern State | RHP | Nicaragua | ||
| Miguel Cienfuegos | Northwest Florida State | LHP | Panama | ||
| Luis Quiñones | San Jacinto-North (TX) | RHP | Puerto Rico | ||
| Angel Reyes | Western Oklahoma State | RHP | Puerto Rico | ||
| José Rosado | Galveston (TX) | Pitching Coach | Puerto Rico | ||
| Ricardo Velez | Connors State (OK) | RHP | Puerto Rico | ||
| Bryce Harper | Southern Nevada | RHP | United States | ||
| Andy Pettitte | San Jacinto-North (TX) | Pitching Coach | United States | ||
| Ryan Yarbrough | Santa Fe (FL) | LHP | United States | ||
About NJCAA
Since 1938, the NJCAA has served as the premier governing body for two-year collegiate athletics, providing student-athletes with opportunities to prepare, compete, succeed, and achieve in both their academic and athletic disciplines. The NJCAA is the second-largest national intercollegiate athletic organization in the United States, with over 500 member schools and 3,400 teams competing in 28 different sports. Each year, the NJCAA sponsors 57 national championships and invitationals.
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