The Athletic has live coverage of USA vs. Brazil in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
For the next two weeks, baseball’s biggest and brightest stars, both from MLB and internationally, will be ditching the familiar color schemes and logos of their home and away uniforms in favor of the colors of the country they are from or have ties to.
In other words, say goodbye to the Oriole, New York’s pinstripes and the Olde English D and say hello to stars and stripes, maple leaves and some unexpected color.
It’s the World Baseball Classic.
We here at The Athletic are nothing if not uniform snobs, and after weighing in on everything from MLB’s City Connect initiative to the best and worst road gray jerseys, we’d be remiss if we didn’t share our thoughts on the uniforms that each of the competing federations will be donning.
Our Johnny Flores Jr., Tyler Kepner and C. Trent Rosecrans came together to rank each of the 20 uniforms, using a scoring system of 1-20 (1 being the best). Those totals were then averaged and ranked. Each writer’s personal ranking will appear in parentheses next to their name.
Here are their takes.
20. Great Britain (Average score: 19.67)
(Rick Scuteri / Imagn Images)
Johnny Flores Jr. (20): After being mocked relentlessly in the last WBC tournament, Great Britain had the most to prove this cycle. It doesn’t look like things will change anytime soon.
C. Trent Rosecrans (19): Hopefully, this year all the letters are sewn on and don’t fall off like last time. The disconnect between the jersey and the hat is so stark.
Tyler Kepner (20): Last time around, the world mocked Great Britain’s aggressively uninspired uniforms. So Nike put its best designers on the case … and came back saying, “Well, basically I just copied the look we have now, and these stripes I feel are pretty sharp.” Hard to believe this was the best they could do.
Yeah, that glove hits hard! 😍🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/dLxp6hDFy4
— British Orioles (@BritishOrioles) March 3, 2026
19. Chinese Taipei (Average score: 19.33)
(Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images)
Flores (19): The baseball seams in the logo is a unique approach. Doubling down on that logo and having it on both uniforms and the hat is rather uninspired.
Rosecrans (20): This feels like the default on a video game’s create-a-team feature. The logo is too busy, I’m not even sure if the “T” is actually a T at first glance. It looks like the kind of knock-off jersey that sits at your local Ross for years on end.
Kepner (19): Remember the movie “Brewster’s Millions,” when Richard Pryor buys new uniforms to make his Hackensack Bulls more presentable? Maybe not. But anyway, that’s what I see with the Chinese Taipei alternates. I like the seams of a baseball inside the “C,” but spelling out “Chinese Taipei” in small letters underneath is an odd look. Overall, an amateurish effort.
18. Nicaragua (Average score: 17.33)
(Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)
Flores (18): It’s almost as if the designers had an opportunity to increase the size of the font and instead minimized it to the point of being almost unrecognizable.
Rosecrans (18): Does the “N” stand for “Nighty night?” It’s so boring, it’s just … there. The name on the front of the shirt looks too small, like it could’ve been bumped up to a larger font.
Kepner (16): I like the stylized “N” on the caps; it’s better than the generic lettering we see elsewhere. It’s a clean look, but the lettering on “Nicaragua” seems too small, and the underline seems off to me — too thick on one side, too thin on the other, and it should have gone through the “g,” as we see in the Dodgers’ and Rangers’ script.
17. Panama (Average score: 15.67)
(Photo by Michael Mooney / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Flores (17): It’s a very bland jersey for a country that has produced two Hall of Fame players, including the only player unanimously elected to Cooperstown.
Rosecrans (12): It’s fine.
Kepner (18): White lettering on a white jersey would work better for a country where it snows — say, Norway or Finland. Panama? Not so much. And it’s good that the cap has a flag on the side; otherwise, it nearly matches the hat for the Penn baseball team.
Ruben Tejada is playing for Team Panama in the 2026 WBC 🇵🇦 pic.twitter.com/LwNB5opDGA
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 3, 2026
17. Brazil (Average score: 15.67)
(Chris Coduto / Getty Images)
Flores (16): I’m curious to see what these jerseys would’ve looked like with green side panels and a green logo instead of yellow.
Rosecrans (14): The “B” on the hat is just too thick, but the rest is … not good. But not bad? It just is.
Kepner (17): I can’t give the designers any credit here because they really didn’t try anything, especially with the caps and the main jersey. Luckily, the yellow lettering on the blue alternate works well. The best part of the whole look is the splash of green from the flag patch.
15. Colombia (Average score: 12.67)
(Harrison Barden / WBCI / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Flores (15): There’s a major missed opportunity to not go all-in on the yellow for at least one of the jerseys.
Rosecrans (13): This one is just so close to being elite. It’s just that it looks like the Nike people and the New Era people didn’t communicate. A sans-serif font on the jersey, a serif font on the hat. There’s just no continuity here. The pictures I’ve seen make it look like the yellows are different.
Kepner (10): I feel like I should hate the stenciled, minimalist bubble letters, but maybe I don’t. Could the yellow piping down the front, with its “Bad News Bears” vibes, be saving this? All I know is that the yellow cap with the stylish red “C” is funky enough to work.
14. Italy (Average score: 11)
(Chris Coduto / Getty Images)
Flores (12): Like the Czech Republic, having the name they use for their own country on the front is extremely smart. However, not using that same font on the hat and instead using a generic “I” wasn’t the best decision. It’s just too basic for its own good.
Rosecrans (16): The script “Italia” and block “I’ just don’t work together. It could be better in reverse because the “I” on the hat is just too long and skinny. Take a page from minor-league baseball — I want the “I” to be cursive and be made out of spaghetti. Seriously, I can’t keep giving away these brilliant ideas for free.
Kepner (5): I like the concept of a team wearing different colors from its flag, and Italy’s national teams use blue (Savoy Azure) as a nod to the House of Savoy, the dynasty that unified Italy in 1861. The stylized “Italia” lettering is really cool, reminiscent of the Cleveland Indians’ mid-1990s makeover.
13. Korea (Average score: 11)
(Toru Hanai / Getty Images)
Flores (4): Where my colleagues see a jersey trying too hard, I see arguably the most fashionable jersey of the WBC. The font pops off the fabric. Provided that Team Korea escapes pool play, the Jung Hoo Lee jersey could be an all-time “guy knows ball” fit in a decade.
Rosecrans (15): Remember the early ’90s? I think that “K” does. “The Simpsons” had an episode where, in an attempt to boost ratings for the “Itchy and Scratchy Show,” the team comes up with Poochie, who introduces himself in song as “The kung-fu hippie from gangsta city, I’m a rappin’ surfer, you the fool I pity.” It’s just trying too hard and not succeeding.
Kepner (14): I’ve spent way too many hours of my life doodling my signature, but I never dreamed up a capital “K like that. So give points to Korea for originality, but the jersey wordmark looks a little sloppy.
12. Venezuela (Average score: 10.33)
(Kevin Liles / WBCI / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Flores (13): I’m with Tyler on this one. It’s a shame that Venezuela didn’t stick with the burgundy coloring, instead opting to join the blue wave that is this year’s WBC cycle.
Rosecrans (6): No team benefits from an accent color as much as Venezuela. What would be lost in the red-white-and-blue tedium gives Venezuela an instantly identifiable characteristic. The yellow pops and Nike’s designers may have, for once, restrained themselves in the design.
Kepner (12): Eight of the 20 WBC caps are royal blue, which seems excessive. Venezuela used to wear burgundy, a visual oasis in a sea of blue. The burgundy is still here in the lively Venezuela lettering, but it was better as the main event.
#WBC ⚾️#ClasicoMundial ⚾️
Más imágenes 📷 momentos del primer juego de exhibición de #Venezuela vs @astros previo al Clásico Mundial🇻🇪⚾️🔥
📷 @guilloyaber@Arabeisbol#SomosVenezuela #LaQueNosUne pic.twitter.com/YnHr7QRuB8
— Team Beisbol Venezuela (@TeamBeisbolVe) March 4, 2026
11. Cuba (Average score: 9.33)
(Mike Christy / Getty Images)
Flores (9): Cuba understood the assignment of having a large and legible font. And unlike Canada and its lack of maple leaf, Cuba went all in on the star that’s predominantly featured on its flag.
Rosecrans (4): Cuba’s color palette is red, white and blue, but there’s something about how the team embraces its red. I’m not crazy about the hat, but the home is clean and, well, the away is about as good as you can get in this horrid template. This may get bumped up a spot if Cuba wears its red pants. I always think colored pants make a team look like a softball team, but Cuba is different because it’s been such a staple of their look throughout the years.
Kepner (15): If you’re going to underline a word, it needs to have more than four letters. The Reds sort of pull it off, but the Mets and Cubs tried and failed in the 1990s. You just can’t stretch those four letters very far, and with the Nike-mandated stripes down the jersey front, “Cuba” gets all jumbled up in the middle.
10. Netherlands (Average score: 9)
(Will Vragovic /WBCI / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Flores (11): The crown logo is doing a lot of heavy lifting for what is otherwise a very busy jersey. The front of the jersey alone has 26 characters, and that’s before we get to the last names on the back. It’s enough to make Simeon Woods Richardson and Jarrod Saltalamacchia blush, but not enough to win my heart.
Rosecrans (10): The cap is doing all the lifting here. It’s a great hat, but the jerseys are just too much. And while I understand that the Netherlands’ flag is red, white and blue, the national color is orange. That white and blue jersey with the black and orange hat? Did anyone look at this ahead of time? Truly an awful jersey, but an S-tier lid.
Kepner (6): The Nike-mandated front piping is especially pointless here, squeezing the distinctive crown on both sides. Fortunately, the alternate jersey has no such restrictions, and the crown really stands out. It’s also the emblem on the cap, making the Netherlands one of only two teams (with Israel) to go with just a symbol. There’s more risk and creativity with that approach, and it pays off.
9. Australia (Average score: 8.67)
(Toru Hanai / Getty Images)
Flores (8): In a sea of blue and white, it’s nice to see Australia going with its designated national colors in gold and green. If there’s one critique, it’s that the flag should’ve been left off on one of the kits to give it a more uniform look.
Rosecrans (11): Good colors, blah execution. Can’t we get a kangaroo holding a bat or something?
Kepner (7): The jersey features an Indigenous recognition symbol, introduced in 2023, that evokes baseball and the stars. The cap is sharp, integrating the “A” and the Southern Cross. With better lettering, this design would contend for the top spot. But “Australia” is rendered much too small, and in a flimsy font.
8. Israel (Average score: 8.33)
(Julio Aguilar / WBCI / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Flores Jr. (14): It’s not the best jersey, it’s not the worst jersey of the WBC. It exists.
Rosecrans (7): Elite lid. I saw one of these bad boys in person the other day, and let me tell you, it’s a sharp hat. The uni is … well … about as good as you can get with the lazy designs.
Kepner (4): There’s not much to the uniforms, but that hat — wow. There’s no need to stick a letter over the Star of David; it stands on its own, with the different shades of blue around the edges lending a beveled look that brings it alive. Simple, stylish, elegant. A classic.
7. Puerto Rico (Average score: 8.33)
(Jim Rassol / Imagn Images)
Flores (7): The home jerseys keep things consistent with red piping and letting the blue exist as part of the hat and Nike logo is smart. Speaking of logos, the connected PR on the hats never gets old.
Rosecrans (9): At least the fonts match. Congrats. Red, white and blue are boring, and the smaller “Puerto Rico” makes them look like rejected softball jerseys.
Kepner (9): I like the stacked words “Puerto” and “Rico;” you don’t see that style very often, outside of Tampa Bay’s Devil Rays throwbacks. But while past Puerto Rico designs have featured red sleeves or even blue waves on the jersey, this one offers nothing creative or offbeat. I’m not mad, Puerto Rico. Just disappointed.
6. Dominican Republic (Average score: 8)
(Mary DeCicco / WBCI / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Flores (5): It’s a timeless hat logo paired with some strong supporting home and away jerseys. The font on the jersey could stand to be a bit bigger, and I wish that the non-Japan away jerseys weren’t required to have side panels, as a solid blue away would do wonders for the D.R.’s uniform prospects.
Rosecrans (8): Fine. Just fine. The “RD” cap logo works, but the cap and jerseys seem completely unrelated. I understand the larger “A” at the end of the word “DominicanA” kind of balances it out, but it just doesn’t look like it serves any other purpose.
Kepner (11): The caps are always cool, with the interlocking red “R” and white “D,” but I gotta say — I’d love some more pizazz from a team with so much talent that plays with such verve. There’s some distinctiveness to the lettering, I guess, but just not a lot of effort here.
5. United States (Average score: 7.66)
(Norm Hall / Getty Images)
Flores (3): The U.S. might have the best hat of all the 20 federations, but its jerseys are extremely lacking. It’s a shame that they didn’t get a massive refresh for what is the most star-studded roster in team history. I take particular umbrage with the “S” in the USA chest logo looking like a piece of streaky bacon. It’s the right jersey for a competitive eating contest, but not the WBC.
Rosecrans (17): I’m always amazed at how bad this logo is. It’s a relic from the aughts, meant to look classy but instead looks stale and old. It’s not even that hard — solid navy blue cap, interlocking “U” and “S” in red and white. Boom. Classy. Simple. A hat that you can be proud of instead of hiding from. Oh, in case you forgot, USA Baseball has not one, but two dated designs that don’t match stylistically, yet here they are together — just one giant mess.
Kepner (3): The red-and-white stripes forming the “S” in “USA” is a well-worn but winning design, and it stands out especially well on the alternate jersey, which has a subtle touch of red around the collar. I would re-do the cap logo, though; with a slanted, interlocking “US” superimposed over a silver star, it’s just too pointy.
4. Canada (Average score: 7.66)
(Kim Klement Neitzel / Imagn Images)
Flores (10): Canada benefits the most from having a two-toned flag, allowing the WBC jerseys to eschew a third color on the piping or Nike logo of the home jerseys and in the side panels of the away uniforms. Unfortunately, the jerseys aren’t all that creative. If you have the Maple Leaf on your side, it should be an automatic fine for not flaunting it more.
Rosecrans (5): Canada would be in contention for the top spot if it didn’t botch the hat. Seriously, nobody wants all that stuff going on. Every Canadian has at least 327 items in their home with a plain maple leaf. You know why? Because it works. Don’t make things too complicated.
Kepner (8): This looks like Canada, all right — understated simplicity in red and white, with lettering that evokes the nation’s only MLB team. But the busy black “C” on the cap is wildly inconsistent with the rest of it. It looks like the Portland Trail Blazers logo went to the wrong venue and got all twisted up.
3. Czechia (Average score: 7.33)
(Toru Hanai / Getty Images)
Flores (6): Credit to the Czech Republic for not having a single letter or interlocking letters on the front of their hats. Instead, the “C” and “R” combine to create a home plate. Using “Česko” instead of “Czechia” on the front is also commendable.
Rosecrans (3): Great logo using the letters to make a home plate — why this isn’t done more in baseball logos, I’m not sure. I also really like using the country name for their people, not for the international crowd. There is simplicity and elegance to this look.
Kepner (13): Studying this jersey, I learned that the ˇ symbol is called a háček. So there’s an educational element to this, I suppose. What saves an otherwise drab look is the clever cap logo, with the “CR” forming a home plate, and a little circle representing a ball. Base, ball. Cool.
2. Japan (Average score: 1.66)
(Toru Hanai / Getty Images)
Flores (2): You can never go wrong with pinstripes, which makes the home jerseys an instant win in my book. There are added points for having the numbers in front, too. The hat is simple and effective, but it’s the road jersey that has Japan in the No. 2 slot instead of first place. That said, the red shading on the shoulder and rib area just doesn’t do it for me, especially when the font and numbers are already red.
Rosecrans (1): The returning champs top my list, as much by default as anything. Samurai Japan’s jerseys have a bit of duality going on, with one traditional look and one non-traditional. The pinstripes stand out and have a classic look, like the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers. Japan has done the best job at making its national team an international brand.
Kepner (2): Japan, outfitted by Japanese company Mizuno, is the only country not using Nike, and it shows. While every other jersey has the headspoon around the collar and two stripes down the front, Mizuno gives Japan some originality: thick red pinstripes, vaguely Red Sox-style lettering, and gold trim around the collar. I’m not sure what’s happening with that red swirl on the alternate jersey, but I kinda like it.
1. Mexico (Average score: 1.33)
(Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
Flores (1): The home white jersey, complete with red piping and green font, is chef’s-kiss-level aesthetics. That jersey is complemented by a stunning green away jersey and matching hat. It’s about as close as you can get to “wearing” the flag of a country without actually wearing the flag.
Rosecrans (2): One of the great things about Mexico’s national teams is you always know them when you see them, regardless of the sport. Their green stands out from the ever-present red, white and blue used by so many countries. And how do you know a hat has become iconic? When you see it in multiple colorways.
Kepner (1): Look at that logo. It’s part Christmas, part expansion Blue Jays, part McDonald’s — and somehow 100 percent Mexico. This team leans into the colors on its flag, with a bold typeface that pops. You slip this on, you’re having a good time. It’s like wearing Sergio Romo’s warm-up song. Perfection.
