Though it doesn’t have the same name recognition as the Olympics or the World Cup, the World Baseball Classic is a pretty big deal within the sport. And a trio of former Arizona players are going to be participating in the triennial competition.
Ex-Wildcats Rio Gomez (Colombia), Austin Wells (Dominican Republic) and Justin Wylie (Great Britain) were officially named to their countries’ rosters on Thursday. The World Baseball Classic is set to begin March 4 with games in Houston, Miami, San Juan and Tokyo.
It will be the second time in the event for Gomez and Wylie, while Wells will be making his WBC debut. The 26-year-old catcher qualified for the Dominican squad via his maternal grandfather.
Wells, a 1st-round pick of the New York Yankees in 2020, has been New York’s starting catcher the last two seasons and in 2025 hit 21 home runs, most by a former UA player since Bobby Dalbec hit 25 in 2021.
Gomez, a 36th-round pick of the Boston Red Sox in 2017, last pitched in the Chinese Professional Baseball League. He appeared in one game for Colombia in 2023 and also struck out six in three innings of a qualifier game for the 2026 tourney played in Tucson last year.
Wylie, who went undrafted after finishing his college career at Arizona in 2019, has been playing for Jaguares de Nayarit in the Mexican Pacific Winter League after spending the 2025 season with the Gastonia Ghost Peppers of the independent Atlantic League where he hit .304 with 29 homers and 101 RBI. He appeared in two games for Great Britain in 2023.
