Czechia

Czechia's national baseball team is one of Europe's strongest baseball programs and a fan-favorite underdog at the World Baseball Classic. Famous for a roster built largely of amateurs and semi-pros — firefighters, teachers, and financial analysts among them — the Czechs play with an infectious joy that won over global audiences in their WBC debut. The team is the standard-bearer for a small but passionate Czech baseball scene anchored by the domestic Extraliga.

Czech baseball's governing body was founded in 1992 after the split of Czechoslovakia, whose baseball federation dated to 1963. The national team broke through by qualifying for the 2023 World Baseball Classic, where they beat China 8-5 in their opener and charmed the tournament with their all-amateur ethos, earning an automatic berth to the 2026 Classic. Czechia remains a fixture near the top of European baseball, regularly contending in the European Championship against powers like the Netherlands and Italy.