Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper is excited to represent his country and play with some of MLB's top players in the upcoming WBC.
Bryce Harper is preparing for one of the most important seasons of his career, as the Philadelphia Phillies look to get back to the playoffs and finally win the World Series, a title this iteration of the team has longed for.
However, before the regular season officially gets underway, Harper will still be playing meaningful, high-leverage baseball, as he’ll be representing the United States in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
This won’t be the first time that Harper has competed in the competition, but it doesn’t change the fact that representing his country is something incredibly important to him.
“Yeah, I can't wait. Representing your country, there's nothing better. Nothing, nothing better. I mean, the feeling of putting USA on your chest and playing for something so much bigger than yourself, representing your whole country going in, there’s nothing greater,” said Harper.
Jul 22, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies infielder Bryce Harper (3) celebrates with teammates after scoring a run against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn ImagesAlongside Harper, Team USA’s roster has some of the best players in MLB, and that’s also gotten the attention of Harper. Not only is Harper excited to represent his country, but he’s also excited to play alongside some other star players, who are normally in the other dugout.
“Having Aaron judge hit behind me, that’s gonna be a lot of fun as well; that's gonna be really cool. I'm really excited to play with him and play with a lot of guys on there, [Alex] Bregman, Bobby Witt, um, you know, rubbing shoulders with [Paul] Skenes and [Tarik] Skubal, of course. Just a couple of guys. Just really excited to be part of that,” continued Harper.
A lineup that consists of Harper, Judge, Bregman, and Witt, while Skubal and Skenes take the mound, is certainly a roster other teams won’t want to face.
Harper competed for Team USA in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and the team came very close to winning the entire tournament. However, they lost to Team Japan in the tight-fought championship game.
Knowing how much of a competitor Harper is, it would be shocking if this didn’t add a little motivation heading into this year’s WBC, even though he may not have admitted it.
Team USA’s first game will be in Houston, Texas, on Friday, March 6, at 8:00 PM EST.
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