World Baseball Classic era (2013–present) 2012–19 Nicaragua first participated in the
2013 World Baseball Classic qualification, held in November 2012 at the
Estadio Nacional de Panamá in
Panama City. They were assigned to
Qualifier 3 alongside
Brazil,
Colombia, and
Panama. The tournament used a
double-elimination format and the Nicaraguan team lost against Colombia 1–8 in their opening game and 2–6 to Panama in their second, resulting in their elimination. The Nicaraguan squad was managed by
Dennis Martínez, the first Nicaraguan player to reach
Major League Baseball. The Nicaraguan team participated in the
2017 World Baseball Classic qualification, competing in
Qualifier 2, in March 2016 at the
Estadio B'Air in
Mexicali,
Mexico. Led by former
San Francisco Giants outfielder
Marvin Benard, Nicaragua shared the pool with host
Mexico, the
Czech Republic, and
Germany. The qualifier followed a modified double-elimination tournament format. Nicaragua defeated Germany 5–4 in the preliminaries, but lost to Mexico 0–11 in the semifinals. The team had a chance to reach the qualifying game after defeating the Czech Republic 7–6 in the lower final; however, they lost again to Mexico 12–1, and did not secure a place in the
2017 World Baseball Classic.
2020–24 The team failed to
qualify for the 2020 Olympics at the eight-team
Americas Qualifying Event held in
Florida from 31 May through 5 June 2021. Nicaragua finished the first round with a 1–2 record, suffering defeats against the
United States (1–7) and the
Dominican Republic (3–13 in eight innings); their sole victory was against
Puerto Rico 7–6 in extra innings. The team was managed by Marvin Benard. Nicaragua qualified for the first time in their history to the
2023 World Baseball Classic. They participated in
Pool B of the
2023 World Baseball Classic qualification, held from 30 September to 5 October in the Estadio Nacional de Panamá. The tournament used a double-elimination format again. The Nicaraguan team lost to Brazil 1–4 in their first game, defeated
Pakistan 12–0 in seven innings in their second game, defeated
Argentina 6–5 in their third game, and defeated Brazil 3–1 in their fourth game to secure a spot in the final tournament. The team competed in the
2023 World Baseball Classic Pool D in 2023 in
Miami, Florida, under manager
Sandor Guido. They played against the
Dominican Republic,
Israel,
Puerto Rico and
Venezuela. Nicaragua finished last in the pool, losing all four of its games.
2025–present In February 2025, Nicaragua played in the
2026 World Baseball Classic qualification in
Pool A in the
Taipei Dome, against national baseball teams
South Africa,
Spain, and host
Chinese Taipei. They finished the tournament undefeated, and secured a spot in the 2026 final tournament. Team Nicaragua will compete against
Team Israel,
Team Dominican Republic,
Team Venezuela, and
Team Netherlands in the
2026 World Baseball Classic. They will play from March 6-11, 2026, at
LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, in Pool D. Three-time NL Manager of the Year
Dusty Baker will manage Team Nicaragua. ==Current roster==