KANSAS CITY -- In March 2023, Bobby Witt Jr. was a 22-year-old coming off a solid rookie campaign for the Royals and tagged as a future face of baseball, emphasized by his inclusion as the youngest player on a World Baseball Classic Team USA roster packed with the greatest stars of the game.
Now, Witt is very much one of those stars, and he’ll be back to help lead Team USA in the 2026 tournament.
Witt announced Thursday that he’ll again be participating in the World Baseball Classic for the United States, where he will likely be the team’s starting shortstop. The 2024 American League MVP runner-up will get another shot at showcasing his talents on the international stage.
The 25-year-old Witt joins Team USA captain Aaron Judge and pitcher Paul Skenes as players who have announced their participation in the WBC, and the trio will help anchor an American team looking to rebound after finishing runner-up to Japan in 2023. That Classic ended in epic fashion, when Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout in an all-time showdown.
“It’s an honor, and last time we did it, we fell a little short,” Witt said. “So I just wanted to help the team win gold and help the country win gold.”
Witt went 1-for-2 in the 2023 WBC as a bench player for Team USA. He pinch-ran in the ninth inning of that final game against Japan, only to be forced out at second as part of Mookie Betts’ double play before Trout stepped to the plate.
“Just the atmosphere, being around those guys, you learn so much about the game -- like why those guys are so great,” Witt said. “You get to be around the best of the best for however long, three weeks, and you learn a lot. And it kind of gets you ready for the season.”
It’s hard to overstate how much Witt has grown since the last time he wore USA on his chest. The Royals’ generational shortstop put together a sensational 2024 season with a 10.4 fWAR, 32 home runs, 109 RBIs and a .332 average that won him the batting title. He’s under a long-term contract with the Royals now and helped bring them back to the playoffs in ‘24.
It hasn’t been as smooth for the team in ‘25, but Witt is one of the best players in the league again this year with a .282/.338/.484 slash line and 10 home runs. His 3.8 fWAR ranks sixth-best among all Major League players and second-best among shortstops behind Houston’s Jeremy Peña (4.0).
Witt has a history of playing for Team USA beyond 2023’s WBC. He played on USA Baseball’s U-18 team at the Pan-American Championships in 2018, taking home MVP honors after hitting .576 with three triples, three homers and even hitting for the cycle in the gold medal game against Panama.
Witt’s dad, Bobby Witt Sr., won a silver medal with Team USA at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Now Junior will suit up in the red, white and blue once again -- with his eyes on gold.
“Just to get to represent the greatest country, it’s an honor to be able to do that,” Witt said. “It goes a long way to be able to wear [USA] across your chest.”