WEST COAST LEAGUE: 19 WCL alumni to play in World Baseball Classic
Published 5:30 pm Wednesday, March 4, 2026
PORTLAND, Ore. — The 2026 World Baseball Classic that began this week will feature 19 West Coast League alumni with representation on nine of the 20 teams in the event.
“Nineteen former West Coast League players on nine national rosters is a remarkable snapshot,” Commissioner Rob Neyer said, “of what this league has become. From James Paxton, who played in Kelowna nearly two decades ago, to Tarik Skubal and Travis Bazzana, who are among the best young players in the world right now, the WCL pipeline has never been more evident than it is this month.”
Two-time Cy Young award winner Skubal, who played for the Kitsap Bluejackets, which later became the Port Angeles Lefties, is playing for Team USA. Carter Leowen, who played for the Lefties, is playing for Canada.
The Victoria HarbourCats lead the way with four former players selected to WBC teams, followed by the Corvallis Knights and Wenatchee AppleSox with three players each.
The complete list of WCL alumni on WBC rosters:
Australia (Pool C) — Travis Bazzana, Corvallis Knights (2021), 2B; Coen Wynne, Bend Elks (2018-19), RHP.
Brazil (Pool B) — Lucas Ramirez, Victoria HarbourCats (2024), OF.
Canada (Pool A) — Indigo Diaz, Victoria HarbourCats (2016-17), RHP; Carter Loewen, Victoria HarbourCats (2018), Port Angeles Lefties (2019), RHP; James Paxton, Kelowna Falcons (2007), LHP.
Colombia (Pool A) — Rio Gomez, Bend Elks (2015), LHP.
Great Britain (Pool B) — Brendan Beck, Corvallis Knights (2018), RHP; Will Cresswell, Bellingham Bells (2022), C; Chavez Fernander, Victoria HarbourCats (2017), RHP; Ryan Long, Wenatchee AppleSox (2019), RHP; Owen Wild, Yakima Valley Pippins (2021), RHP.
Israel (Pool D) — Charlie Beilenson, Bellingham Bells (2021), RHP; Eli Morgan, Yakima Valley Pippins (2024), RHP; Zack Weiss, Wenatchee AppleSox (2010), RHP.
Italy (Pool B) — Alek Jacob, Wenatchee AppleSox (2017), RHP.
Mexico (Pool B) — Jarren Duran, Walla Walla Sweets (2016), OF.
United States (Pool B) — Matthew Boyd, Corvallis Knights (2010), LHP; Tarik Skubal, Kitsap BlueJackets (2014), LHP.
Peninsula Daily News
