Five Big West baseball standouts will participate in the upcoming 2026 World Baseball Classic in Denzel Clarke (CSUN/Team Canada), Jarren Duran (Long Beach State/Team Mexico), Michael Lorenzen (Cal State Fullerton/Team Italy), Benjamin Rosengard (UC San Diego/Team Israel) and Joe Ryan (CSUN/Team USA).

The 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) will be held from March 5-17, 2026, featuring 20 teams. Pool play will be held March 5-11 at various global sites. The quarterfinals (March 13-14), semifinals (March 15-16) and championship game (March 17) will be held at loanDepot Park in Miami.

Clarke was a three-year Matador from 2019-21. The native of Pickering, Ontario, Canada hit .400 in the shortened 2020 season with 12 runs and nine RBI in 15 games. In 2021, Clarke was an All-Big West Second Team selection and Tri-Defensive Player of the Year, hitting .324 with 15 stolen bases, eight home runs, 25 RBI and 30 runs.

Duran played three seasons at Long Beach State (2016-18) and earned two All-Big West honors with a career batting average of .294 and on-base percentage of .376. The Buena Park native accumulated 195 hits, 26 doubles, 10 triples, three home runs, 29 sacrifice bunts and 49 stolen bases in three seasons.

Lorenzen was a two-way player at Cal State Fullerton from 2011-13 and racked up numerous awards including All-America honors from multiple outlets, All-Big West First Tea, and was a finalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, NCBWA Stopper of the Year and Golden Spikes Award. Lorenzen was 3-0 with a 1.99 ERA and 19 saves on the mound and batted .335 with a Big West-leading 54 RBI and 40 runs at the plate.

Rosengard played one year (2024) at UC San Diego, transferring in from Rice, and hit .284 with 26 runs, 27 RBI and seven stolen bases.

Ryan spent three seasons (2015-17) at CSUN, going 3-0 with a 1.48 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 30.1 frames as a freshman, and a 3.35 ERA in 40.1 innings as a sophomore, before getting injured as a junior and transferring to Division II Stanislaus State.