Promising young players leading the generational shift in Korean baseball will take the international stage at the 2026 Asia Professional Baseball Championship (APBC).
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced on October 13 that it finalized a preliminary roster of 33 players for the national team during a meeting of its Strengthening Committee on October 12. The roster includes 19 pitchers, 2 catchers, 7 infielders, and 5 outfielders.
This tournament will feature players under 24 years old (born on or after January 1, 2002) or those in their third year of professional play (signed after 2024). The KBO's Strengthening Committee focused on identifying national team resources for future international competitions, including the 2027 Premier12 and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Among the selected players are Kim Do-young (KIA Tigers) and Choi Min-seok (Doosan Bears), key contributors to Korea's gold medal win at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, along with other rising talents like Ahn Hyun-min (KT Wiz), Lee Jae-hyun (Samsung Lions), Kim Joo-won (NC Dinos), and Moon Hyun-bin (Hanwha Eagles).
Three wildcards, eligible for players under 29 years old (born on or after January 1, 1997), include pitcher Choi Jun-yong and infielders Han Dong-hee (both from Lotte Giants) and Kim Ji-chan (Samsung).
The selection process also applied principles to protect players. Given the national team's participation in several international tournaments this year, all pitchers who were called up for the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) were excluded from selection to manage their conditioning and prevent injuries. This is why players like Kwak Bin (Doosan) and Jo Byeong-hyeon (SSG Landers) are not on the list.
Additionally, pitchers from teams that reached the Korean Series will also be excluded from the final roster. Consequently, pitchers from KT, who finished first in the regular season and advanced directly to the Korean Series, were not selected. Once the remaining teams in the Korean Series are determined, their pitchers will also be omitted.
The current roster of 33 players will be narrowed down to 28 based on the finalization of the Korean Series teams and any injuries. The Strengthening Committee selected 33 players to account for these factors.
The national team will convene on November 1 and will train and play practice games in Korea from November 2 to 8 before departing for Japan on November 9. The number of participants in training may change depending on the postseason schedule.
This tournament, featuring Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Australia, will take place from November 12 to 15. Korea will play its first game against Australia on November 12 at noon, followed by matches against Japan on November 13 at 7 p.m. and Taiwan on November 14 at 7 p.m. The final will be held on November 15 at 6 p.m., with the third-place game scheduled for the same day at 11 a.m.
The KBO plans to expedite the selection process for a new head coach to lead the APBC team, following Ryu Ji-hyeon’s appointment as the 15th manager of Hanwha Eagles on October 13.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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