Press release World Baseball Softball Confederation
LAUSANNE, Switzerland — 18 March 2020 — The World Baseball Softball Confederation today published the latest WBSC Baseball World Rankings, which have expanded to a record high of 86 nations and territories across the globe.
The updated WBSC Baseball World Rankings include results from the Americas Qualifier for the WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup 2020, won by Nicaragua, and the Oceania Qualifier for the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup 2020, won by Guam.
The Top 10
No. 1 Japan remains the top-ranked baseball country in the world, followed by No. 2 USA, No. 3 Korea, No. 4 Chinese Taipei and No. 5 Mexico.
No. 6 Australia remains the top team in Oceania.
Baseball hot spots No. 7 Cuba and No. 8 Venezuela each gained a position, moving ahead of Europe’s top-ranked country, No. 9 Netherlands.
The Dominican Republic maintains its position at No. 10.
Road to WBSC Premier12 2023
Central American powerhouse Panama (No. 12) moved into ‘Premier12’ territory, overtaking the now No. 13 Canada.
Puerto Rico held its position at No. 11.
The 12 highest-ranked nations in the sport of baseball — in the final 2022 WBSC Rankings — will qualify into the global flagship event, which distributes millions (US$) in prize money.
Other nations currently just outside the Premier12 qualification cutoff include No. 14 Colombia, No. 15 Nicaragua, No. 16 Czech Republic and No. 17 Italy.
Top Gainers
No. 36 Guam, which currently has the top U-15 team in Oceania, made the biggest move up the rankings, climbing 16 spots.
No. 54 El Salvador used a 10th-place finish at the Americas Qualifier for the U-23 Baseball World Cup to climb 10 spots up the rankings.
No. 39 New Zealand advanced nine spots, following a 2nd-Place finish at the Oceania U-15 World Cup qualifier.
No. 47 Honduras advanced seven places in the rankings, behind a 9th-Place finish at the U-23 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier, which the Central American country co-hosted.
Record High Rankings – Most International Baseball Activity Ever
Newcomer No. 83 Northern Mariana Islands has entered the world rankings for the first time, ahead of the Bahamas, Haiti and Iraq (T-84th), thereby expanding the number of nations engaged in international baseball competitions to a historic high of 86.
The previous high of 85 nations was set this past January, when 10 new countries and territories entered the WBSC Baseball World Rankings for the first time.
The WBSC Baseball World Rankings measure National Team performance — from U-12 to Professional — in WBSC-sanctioned international competitions over a four-year period.
The WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup will distribute the highest-amount of world ranking points this year.
The full WBSC Baseball World Rankings and formula can be found at https://rankings.wbsc.org.