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Jac Caglianone to compete in World Baseball Classic

On3 imageby: Keith Niebuhr02/06/26NiebuhrOn3

Jac Caglianone is believed to be among the potential rising stars in Major League Baseball. And in March, the former Florida Gators great will get to showcase his skills in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

But not for Team USA.

Instead, Caglianone will play for Team Italy. Per Alexis Farinacci of Hail Florida Hail, he had the option to play for Team Puerto Rico or Team Italy. He chose the latter, which he can do because of his Italian ancestry.

Although this had been in the works for a while, the Royals announced it on social media Thursday.

Caglianone struggled as a rookie in 2025, finishing with a .157 batting average, 7 homers and 18 RBI in 62 games. But many baseball insiders think he could boom in Year 2.

David Adler of MLB.com posted an article earlier this year titled, “10 players who could be 2026 versions of ’25’s breakout stars” — and Caglianone made the list.

He wrote the following: “Caglianone was maybe the top power-hitting prospect in baseball and absolutely tearing up the Minors when he got called up last year. His big league debut didn’t quite live up to that, but it’s only a matter of time before he starts mashing.

The 22-year-old lefty has elite bat speed — his 77.4 mph average swing speed in 2025 was top 10 in the Majors for hitters who took as many swings as him. His 12% barrel rate as a rookie gives him a solid power-hitting foundation to build on. And we know he has elite exit velocity in him — he ripped a base hit at 120.9 mph in the Minors in April and another at 117.3 mph in the 2024 Arizona Fall League. Plus, he should reap the benefits of the Royals moving their outfield fences in this winter.”

The 2026 World Baseball Classic is March 5-17, 2026 with pool-play rounds played in Miami, Houston, Puerto Rico and Japan. The quarterfinals will be in Miami and Houston, with the semifinals and the finals in Miami.

Per Mlb.com, “Italy kicks off the Classic in Houston with a pair of matchups against the two lowest-ranked teams in Pool B — Team Brazil on March 7 at 1 p.m. EST and Team Great Britain at the same time the following day.” However, then, Caglianone and Team Italy face Team USA on March 10.

At Florida, Caglianone put up legendary numbers. He belted 68 home runs during his final two seasons with the Gators while playing first base and pitching. That included 35 homers as a junior in 2024, which trailed only the 37 from Georgia’s Charlie Condon. 

He was the sixth overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. 

Caglianone played his first MLB game on June 3, 2025.