The 2026 World Baseball Classic is set to begin on March 5 and rosters have been unveiled for all 20 teams.
New Jersey is represented with several former high school stars earning spots.
Here are the New Jersey alums in this year’s tournament.
Team Israel
Rob Kaminsky
High School: St. Joseph (Mont.)
MLB Team: Free Agent
2025 Stats: 17.2 IP, 5.60 ERA, 0-3, 2.208 WHIP (w/ Staten Island)
Kaminsky bounced around a few teams in 2025. He appeared in one game with the Memphis Redbirds, the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinal, two for the Florida Complex League Cardinals and six for the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League. The 31-year-old was drafted by the Cardinals in the first round, 28th overall in 2013 out of St. Joseph (Mont.). He tossed 64 innings in his senior season in 2013, fanned 128 and allowed just one earned run to go with a 9-0 record. He is a two-time NJ.com Player of the Year.
Jason Marquis (COACH)
Marquis, from Staten Island, New York, has plenty of connection in the Garden State. He is currently an assistant coach at Middletown South, where he helped the Eagles go 15-11 last spring. Marquis played for 15 seasons in MLB with nine different franchises. He owns a career 4.61 ERA and a 124-118 record with 1,174 strikeouts.
He will be the pitching coach for Team Israel at the WBC.
Team Italy
Kyle Teel
High School: Mahwah
MLB Team: Chicago White Sox
2025 stats: .273 avg, 8 HR, 35 RBI, 11 2B, .786 OPS
Teel graduated from Mahwah in 2020 and was a Second-Team All-State honoree as a shortstop in 2019. He was also named New Jersey Gatorade Player of the year in 2020, when he earned First-Team All-State honors as well. In 2023, he was selected by the Boston Red Sox 14th overall in the MLB Draft. He made his MLB debut on June 6, 2025 and picked up his first hit in his second at-bat.
Gordon Graceffo
High School: Cranford
MLB Team: St. Louis Cardinals
2025 Stats: 43 IP, 3-1, 6.28 ERA, 40 K, 1.47 WHIP
Graceffo made his MLB debut during the 2024 season but appeared in 26 games in 2025. He pitched just under 175 innings in his career at Cranford before graduating in 2018. He had 128 strikeouts to go with it. The Cardinals drafted him in the fifth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Villanova.
Ron Marinaccio
High School: Toms River North
MLB Team: San Diego Padres
2025 Stats: 10.2 IP, 0.84 ERA, 12 K, 0.938 WHIP
Marinaccio got his start in MLB as a 26-year-old in the Bronx. He was DFA’d by the Yankees in Sept. 2024 after almost three seasons with the club and was claimed by the White Sox but never played for them. He spent 2025 with the Padres and appeared in seven games.
Andrew Fischer
High School: Wall
2025 Team: University of Tennessee/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (A+)
2025 Stats: 65 GP, .341 avg, 74 H, 70 R, 25 HR, 65 RBI, 1.227 OPS (w/ Tennesse); 19 GP, .311 avg, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 8 R
Fischer was a Second-Team All-State honoree as a senior at Wall in 2022. That spring, Fischer hit .382 with 22 runs and 27 RBI in 76 at-bats. He was stellar in three seasons at the University of Tennesse, where he hit .307 with 155 runs, 155 RBI and 56 homers in 167 games. The Milwaukee Brewers drafted him in the first round, 20th overall in the 2025 draft. He wrapped up his 2025 season with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest League.
