Harrison Bader has already scored his first home run of the 2026 World Baseball Classic with Israel. He is one of several players on the roster who were born in the United States but are representing the Middle Eastern team, which has only one player on the roster who was actually born in Israel.
Bader announced on April 22, 2025, that he had committed to play for Israel in the WBC. Max Mannis of Jomboy Media reported the news at the time on X (@maxmannis). At that point, there was also speculation that other players such as Alex Bregman could join the team, though that ultimately did not happen.
“I’m looking forward to playing for Team Israel in 2026 for the World Baseball Classic. That’ll be amazing. I’m fully healthy, and it’s something I’m certainly looking forward to doing, so that’d be super cool,” Bader said in April of last year.
Does Bader have a family connection to Israel?
Yes. Bader’s father, Louis Bader, is Jewish, which allows him to be eligible to join Israel for the World Baseball Classic. The rules in this case differ from the situation involving Jazz Chisholm Jr., who is playing for Great Britain despite being born in the Bahamas.
The WBC has a provision known as the “Potential Citizenship” rule, which allows players like Bader, who were not born in Israel, to represent the country if they are eligible for citizenship, such as through a Jewish grandparent or family heritage.
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Israel allows Bader and other players, such as Garrett Stubbs, to play for the national team because, combined with the WBC rule mentioned above, they can qualify under Israel’s “Law of Return.” That law grants immediate access to citizenship for individuals of Jewish heritage, making them legally eligible to represent the country.
