Inside The Rangers

Former Texas Rangers Star Named Team USA Manager for 2026 World Baseball Classic

A former Texas Rangers star will lead Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Tyler Maher

Mar 2, 2006; Surprise, AZ, USA; Texas Rangers infielder (7) Mark DeRosa beats the throw home against the Kansas City Royals at Surprise Stadium.
Mar 2, 2006; Surprise, AZ, USA; Texas Rangers infielder (7) Mark DeRosa beats the throw home against the Kansas City Royals at Surprise Stadium. / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
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With the 2026 World Baseball Classic less than a year away, a former Texas Rangers star has been named manager of Team USA.

On Thursday morning, USA Baseball announced on X that former MLB player Mark DeRosa will return to manage Team USA for next year's WBC. The tournament, which is scheduled for next March, will take place in Miami, Houston, San Juan and Tokyo.

DeRosa, 50, will manage Team USA for the second straight WBC. He also guided the Americans during the 2023 tournament, leading them to a silver medal.

Team USA narrowly lost the gold medal game to Japan, 3-2, after Shohei Ohtani famously struck out Mike Trout to end the game.

Now a co-host of MLB Central on MLB Network, DeRosa played 16 seasons in the Major Leagues from 2008 to 2013. The New Jersey native and UPenn alum also played for Team USA during the 2009 WBC.

The former utilityman suited up for eight different teams during his MLB career, including a two-year stint with the Rangers from 2005 to 2006. His 2006 campaign was arguably the best of his career, as he batted .296/.357/.456 with 13 homers, 40 doubles and a personal-best 3.6 WAR.

Given DeRosa's impressive experience, insight and passion for the game, he's a great choice to lead Team USA again. He stayed up until 4 a.m. every morning planning out lineups and potential matchups during the last tournament, so he takes the role seriously.

He'll also be hungry to win a gold medal after coming up short against Japan.

DeRosa will work closely with Team USA's general manager, Michael Hill. Hill currently works as MLB's senior vice president of on-field operations.

With 11 months to prepare, DeRosa will try to help Team USA win its second WBC and first since 2017. Based on his initial reaction to the news on MLB Network, he can't wait to get started.

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Tyler Maher
TYLER MAHER

Tyler is a writer for Sports Illustrated's Inside the Rangers. He grew up in Massachusetts and is a huge Boston sports fan, especially the Red Sox. He went to Tufts University and played club baseball for the Jumbos. Since graduating, he has worked for MLB.com, The Game Day, FanDuel and Forbes. When he's not writing about baseball, he enjoys running, traveling, and playing fetch with his golden retriever.

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