Team Korea has been one of the more competitive teams in the World Baseball Classic since the event’s inception in 2006. A strong baseball culture is part of that, one that’s produced many current and former Major Leaguers. The 2026 Korea team will be missing some notable names but will also have some of the best from the KBO last season, plus players in North America.
Pitchers
- RHP Dane Dunning (Mariners)
- RHP Woo-Suk Go (Tigers)
- RHP Been Gwak
- RHP Woo Joo Jeong
- RHP Byeong Hyeon Jo
- LHP Young Kyu Kim
- RHP Young Pyo Ko
- RHP Kyung-Eun Noh
- RHP Riley O’Brien (Cardinals)
- RHP Yeong Hyun Park
- LHP Hyun Jin Ryu
- RHP Hyeong Jun So
- LHP Ju Young Son
- LHP Seung Ki Song
- RHP Tae In Won
We’ll start with the notable MLB and MLB-adjacent pro talent on Korea’s roster.
Dane Dunning, on a Minor League deal, is on the roster. Dunning found success years ago as an innings-eater for the Rangers during the World Series championship season in 2023.
Woo-Suk Go was a highly notable reliever addition for the Padres several years ago. However, Go was optioned to the Minors after he signed with San Diego in 2024, traded to Miami, and has never pitched in the Majors.
Korea will also have hard-throwing sinkerballer Riley O’Brien on hand. O’Brien tandemed with JoJo Romero to hold down the late innings for St. Louis during the final third of 2025. The right-hander posted a 2.06 ERA last season for the Cardinals.
There’s also Hyun Jin Ryu, the former All-Star who is back in Korea after a lengthy MLB stint, split between the Dodgers and Blue Jays.
Ryu struck out 122 batters last season, notable since there isn’t many strikeout pitchers on this team. There are only a handful of pitchers from the top 20 of the KBO strikeout leaderboard from last season, many of whom are foreign-born players.
Ju Young Son and Young Pyo Ko, the latter of whom was in the top 10, are among the other notables on the pitching staff.
Catchers
Dong Won Park hit 22 home runs, good for the top-10 in the KBO last season, for the LG Twins.
Hyung Jun Kim hit 35 combined home runs over the last two seasons for the NC Dinos.
Infielders
- INF Do Yeong Kim
- INF Hyeseong Kim (Dodgers)
- INF Ju Won Kim
- INF Bo Gyeong Moon
- INF Si Hwan Roh
- INF Min Jae Shin
- INF Shay Whitcomb (Astros)
Team Korea won’t have two notable Major Leaguers who played for the country in the 2023 installment of this event: Ha-Seong Kim and Tommy Edman. Both are injured and will be available for Opening Day 2026 in North America.
Additionally, Sung Mun Song, a standout last season in the KBO and now a member of the San Diego Padres, is also not on the roster.
However, Korea will have two other notable players with MLB experience: Hyeseong Kim and Shay Whitcomb.
Kim wasn’t a regular for the Dodgers during their World Series season in 2025. The 27-year-old started the year in Triple-A and also had multiple IL stints. However, he hit when was in the lineup, as Kim slashed .280/.313/.385 in 170 plate appearances.
Shay Whitcomb hit 25 home runs for the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate last season.
As for the rest of the group, it’s mostly comprised of KBO players, as expected.
Si Hwan Roh was one of Korea’s best power hitters last season. Roh hit 32 home runs for the Hanwha Eagles.
Ju Won Kim finished in the top 20 in batting average (.289) last season in Korea.
Outfielders
- OF Hyun Min Ahn
- OF Jahmai Jones (Tigers)
- OF Ja Wook Ko
- OF Jung Hoo Lee (Giants)
- OF Hyun Bin Moon
- OF Hae-Min Park
Two of the top five hitters, in terms of batting average, from the KBO last season are a part of Korea’s outfield group.
Hyun Min Ahn finished three percentage points behind Eui Ji Yang for the KBO batting title last season, as Ahn completed the 2025 campaign with a .335 batting average. Ahn not only made a ton of contact but he also walked more than he struck out. He also finished second in OPS (1.018), behind only former Major Leaguer Lewin Diaz.
Hyun Bin Moon hit .320 for the Hanwha Eagles last season.
There are also two notable Major League outfielders for Korea: Jahmai Jones and Jung Hoo Lee.
Jones has always been an explosive athlete but had limited success in the Majors before 2025. However, Jones played an integral role for the Tigers down the stretch last season, as he had seven home runs and 19 extra-base hits for Detroit last season.
Lee, in his third season with the Giants, had a great WBC three years ago, as he cemented himself as a name to watch for baseball fans in North America. The outfielder had six hits for Korea, second-most on the team.
Check out more of our MLB coverage, including a look at Team Israel.