Skenes to represent Team USA in World Baseball Classic 2026

One of the best pitchers on the planet is going to be representing his country in next year’s World Baseball Classic.

Pirates stud Paul Skenes announced on MLB Network on Tuesday that he will be participating in the 2026 WBC for the United States, where he will likely be near -- or at -- the front of the rotation. The 2024 National League Rookie of the Year will now get a chance to take his show from Pittsburgh to the international stage.

“It’s special,” Skenes told local reporters before the Pirates faced the Mets at Citi Field on Tuesday night. “Growing up watching the World Baseball Classic as a kid, I never thought I would have the opportunity to play in one. So I told myself, ‘If I did get the opportunity to do it, I couldn't pass it up.’ Here we are.”

Skenes was approached by Team USA manager Mark DeRosa last April about joining the team. At first, it appeared DeRosa was trying to convince Skenes to join. But then Skenes interrupted DeRosa and said, “DeRo, I’m in.”

Skenes’ interest in the World Baseball Classic started in 2017, when Team USA won the gold medal by defeating Puerto Rico, 8-0, at Dodger Stadium.

“Obviously, Adam Jones’ catch [of a drive by Manny Machado], everything that happened there and getting to meet a couple of the guys who played on that team, that’s probably the one [that made me interested in The Classic],” Skenes said.

It has been just over a year since Skenes made his Major League debut, going from the top pitching prospect of his generation to one of the top arms in the game. He came into the year a Cy Young contender. In his 32 career starts, Skenes has gone 14-7 with a 2.16 ERA while fanning 223 over 187 2/3 innings with a sensational 7.3 WAR.

Skenes’ love of country is well known, starting his collegiate baseball journey at the Air Force Academy and now working with the Gary Sinise Foundation to help veterans, first responders and their families. This will be the first World Baseball Classic since he entered the league as the first overall Draft pick in 2023.

“When I was coming through high school,” Skenes said, “the thing that I thought I was going to be doing right now was flying jets rather than playing in Major League Baseball stadiums against the best of the best.

“This is one thing as a fan of the game, watching the previous World Baseball Classics, that I was like, ‘If I ever get the chance to do this, I'm never saying no.’ So this is going to be the first one.”

Skenes will help anchor an American team that is looking to rebound after finishing runner-up to Japan in 2023. That Classic ended in epic fashion, as Shohei Ohtani fanned Mike Trout in an all-time showdown.

This is not the first time Skenes will represent Team USA on the baseball field. In 2014, he was a member of the 12U National Team that won silver at the COPABE Pan American Championships in Mazatlan, Mexico. Skenes made eight starts and played in all 10 games, primarily at first base, hitting .286 with six hits and one RBI.

Skenes also played on the Collegiate National Team in 2021 and ‘22. In his only appearance in ‘21, Skenes pitched four shutout innings against the Netherlands on July 12. He had a 3.58 ERA with six strikeouts in seven innings the following season.

While he has accomplished a lot in his 22 years, Skenes said there is nothing like representing Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. It’s a team that will have a captain named Aaron Judge.

“Now it’s everybody. It’s the best of the best. There is no greater USA team to play on than this one and represent the nation on the biggest stage,” Skenes said. “I was able to talk to Judge a couple of times. Just being able to share a locker room with him, it’s going to be pretty cool.”