Spain national baseball team

Spain national baseball team
Information
Country	Spain
Federation	Royal Spanish Baseball and Softball Federation
Confederation	WBSC Europe
Manager	Nelson Prada
WBSC ranking
Current	26 (26 March 2026)
Highest	16 (December 2012)
Lowest	26 (December 2018)
Olympic Games
Appearances	1 (first in 1992)
Best result	8th (1992)
World Baseball Classic
Appearances	1 (first in 2013)
Best result	15th (2013)
World Cup
Appearances	4 (first in 1988)
Best result	12th (1988, 2009)
Intercontinental Cup
Appearances	2 (first in 1991)
European Championship
Appearances	33 (first in 1954)
Best result	1st (2 times, most recent in 2023)

The Spain national baseball team (Spanish: Selección Española de Béisbol) is the national team of Spain. It is governed by the Royal Spanish Baseball and Softball Federation. It is a member nation of the WBSC Europe.

History

The Spanish national team won the European Baseball Championship in 1955. In 1992, it took part in the Olympic Games, held in Barcelona.

In 2013, they qualified for the first time for the World Baseball Classic. They lost all three games against Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela.

Spain competed in the 2019 European Baseball Championship, coming in third to win a bronze medal. Among the players who competed for it were Engel Beltré, Rhiner Cruz, Ricardo Hernández, Fernando Martínez, Leslie Nacar, Antonio Noguera, and Blake Ochoa. With this achievement, Spain qualified again for the final qualification stage of the 2020 Summer Olympics, but it failed to qualify by finishing fourth.

In 2023, Spain became European champions again at the European Championship, 68 years after their first title.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of professional baseball match results currently active in the latest version of the WBSC World Rankings, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

  Win   Lose   Void or postponed   Fixture

2023

Friendly	19 September	France	2–6	Spain	Pamplona, Spain
	17:00 UTC+2		Boxscore		Attendance: 300

Friendly	20 September	Spain	12–2 (F/7)	France	Pamplona, Spain
	17:00 UTC+2		Boxscore		Attendance: 150

Friendly	21 September	France	5–3	Spain	Pamplona, Spain
	10:30 UTC+2		Boxscore		Attendance: 90

2025

World Baseball Classic Q	21 February	Spain	12–5	Chinese Taipei	Taipei, Taiwan
	19:00 UTC+8	WP: Elián Leyva HR: Gabriel Lino	Boxscore	LP: Yu-Hung Chen HR: Yu Chang	Attendance: 35,325 Umpires: Ty Krauss

World Baseball Classic Q	22 February	Spain	1–2 (F/10)	Nicaragua	Taipei, Taiwan
	12:00 UTC+8	LP: Rhiner Cruz HR: Carlos Colmenarez	Boxscore	WP: Yeris Gonzalez HR: Brandon Leytón	Attendance: 15,015 Umpires: Ben Phillips

World Baseball Classic Q	23 February	South Africa	1–9	Spain	Taipei, Taiwan
	12:00 UTC+8	LP: Vince Deyzel	Boxscore	WP: Pablo Guillén HR: Rusber Estrada, Jesús Ustariz	Attendance: 15,385 Umpires: Yoshiharu Yamaguchi

World Baseball Classic Q	25 February	Chinese Taipei	6–3	Spain	Taipei, Taiwan
	19:00 UTC+8	WP: Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang Sv: Jyun-Yue Tseng	Boxscore	LP: Ramón Rosso HR: Rusber Estrada	Attendance: 35,768 Umpires: Mark Stewart Jr.

European Championship GS	20 September	Sweden	0–15 (F/5)	Spain	Rotterdam, Netherlands
	20:30 UTC+2		Boxscore		Attendance: 81

European Championship GS	21 September	Spain	1–9	Czech Republic	Rotterdam, Netherlands
	19:30 UTC+2		Boxscore		Attendance: 200

European Championship GS	22 September	Germany	2–4	Spain	Rotterdam, Netherlands
	14:00 UTC+2		Boxscore		Attendance: 353

European Championship R16	24 September	Australia	0–10 (F/7)	Spain	Rotterdam, Netherlands
	18:00 UTC+2		Boxscore		Attendance: 237

European Championship QF	25 September	Spain	7–0	Great Britain	Rotterdam, Netherlands
	18:00 UTC+2		Boxscore		Attendance: 133

European Championship SF	26 September	Spain	1–6	Netherlands	Rotterdam, Netherlands
	19:30 UTC+2		Boxscore		Attendance: 2,463

European Championship 3rd	27 September	Czech Republic	9–2	Spain	Rotterdam, Netherlands
	14:00 UTC+2		Boxscore		Attendance: 1,600

2026

WBSC Premier12 Q	9 October	Germany	–	Spain	Barcelona, Spain
	19:00 UTC+2

WBSC Premier12 Q	10 October	Spain	–	Italy	Barcelona, Spain
	19:00 UTC+2

WBSC Premier12 Q	11 October	Spain	–	Colombia	Barcelona, Spain
	19:00 UTC+2

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Nelson Prada	Manager
Néstor Pérez	Bench coach
Juan Rincón	Pitching coach
Candelario Díaz	First base coach
Félix Manuel Cano	Third base coach
Manuel Olivera	Bullpen coach
Ian Peres	Bullpen catcher

Tournament records

World Baseball Classic

World Baseball Classic record								Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	W	L	RS	RA		W	L	RS	RA
2006	did not enter							No qualifiers held
2009
2013	Round 1	15th	0	3	9	20		3	1	32	14
2017	did not qualify							0	2	5	14
2023								2	2	36	24
2026								2	2	25	14
Total	Round 1	1/6	0	3	9	20		7	7	98	66

Olympic Games

Summer Olympics record								Qualification
Year	Round	Position	W	L	RS	RA
1992	Preliminary	8th	1	6	15	85		Host country
1996	did not qualify							4th, 1995 European Baseball Championship
2000	did not qualify							5th, 1999 European Baseball Championship
2004	did not qualify							2003 European Baseball Championship
2008	did not qualify							2007 European Baseball Championship 7th, Final Qualifying Tournament
2020	did not qualify							2019 European Baseball Championship 4th, Final Qualifying Tournament
Total	1/5		1	6	15	85

European Baseball Championship

Year	Position	Pld	W	L
1954	2nd	2	1	1
1955	1st	4	3	0
1956	4th	4	1	3
1957	4th	4	1	3
1958	5th	3	1	2
1960	3rd	3	1	2
1962	3rd	5	3	2
1964	3rd	4	2	2
1965	4th	4	1	3
1967	4th	4	1	3
1969	3rd	3	2	1
1971	6th	5	2	3
1973	3rd	11	5	6
1975	4th	7	3	4
1977	4th	6	1	5
1979	did not qualify
1981
1983	4th	8	3	5
1985	5th	8	2	6
1987	3rd	10	5	5
1989	3rd	9	5	4
1991	3rd	9	5	4
1993	5th	8	6	2
1995	4th	10	5	5
1997	3rd	9	5	4
1999	5th	8	5	3
2001	6th	8	3	5
2003	3rd	8	6	2
2005	3rd	9	7	2
2007	3rd	8	6	2
2010	9th	5	2	3
2012	3rd	8	4	4
2014	3rd	8	6	2
2016	2nd	9	7	2
2019	3rd	8	6	2
2021	4th	6	4	2
2023	1st	6	6	0
2025	4th	7	4	3
Total	36/38	238	130	107

At Baseball World Cup

Year	Position	Pld	W	L
1988	12th	11	0	11
1998	14th	7	2	5
2005	14th	8	2	6
2007	13th	7	2	5
2009	12th	10	3	7
Total	5/39	43	9	34

At Intercontinental Cup

Year	Position	Pld	W	L
1991
1997
Total	2/17

European Championships - Junior

• Gold Medal (1 time)

2022.

• Silver Medal (4 times)

1990, 1991, 1996 and 2001.

• Bronze Medal (11 times)

1974, 1976, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 2005.

European Championships - Cadet

• Silver Medal (3 times)

1981, 1992 and 2004.

• Bronze Medal (3 times)

1979, 2000 and 2002.

Technical staff

Current technical staff

Position	Name
Manager	Nelson Prada
Bench Coach	Néstor Pérez
First Base Coach	Candelario Díaz
Third Base Coach	Félix Manuel Cano
Pitching Coach	Juan Rincón
Bullpen Coach	Manuel Olivera
Bullpen Catcher	Ian Peres

Managerial history

The Spain national baseball team has been led by a diverse succession of managers since its first participation in the European Baseball Championship in 1954. In the early years, the team was guided exclusively by Spanish-born managers, with Isaac Llamazares among the first to lead the national side. As the program grew, Spain began attracting foreign managers, reflecting the team's increasing international ambitions.

Notable foreign managers include Cuban legend Sungo Carrera in 1975, Netherlands Antilles native Hamilton Richardson in 1983, and Italian Giuseppe Guilizzoni from 1988 to 1989. American manager Jake Molina served two separate stints and remains one of the longest-serving foreign managers in program history. Italian Mauro Mazzotti oversaw the team's most significant achievement of the modern era, guiding Spain to its first ever World Baseball Classic appearance in 2013.

Venezuelan veteran Luis Sojo, a former MLB infielder, brought considerable professional pedigree to the role in 2019. His successor, fellow Venezuelan Nelson Prada, led Spain to its first European Championship title since 1955 in 2023, establishing the team as one of the premier baseball nations in Europe.

• Isaac Llamazares (1954)
• José Martínez (1955–1956)
• Braulio García (1957)
• Alejo Carbonell (1958-1959)
• Samuel Corillo (1960)
• Antonio García (1962–1963)
• Manuel Aurelio Rodríguez (1964–1965)
• Andrés Pueyo (1967)
• Ramón Valdés (1969)
• Gregorio Solís (1971)
• Erik Lundqvist (1972)
• Augusto Fernández Flores (1973)
• Diego Sánchez Ruiz (1974)
• Sungo Carrera (1975)
• Francisco Molina Vega (1977–1978)
• Armando Roque (1979)
• Rafael Herrero Campos (1980–1981)
• Hamilton Richardson (1983)
• Giuseppe Guilizzoni (1988–1989)
• Jake Molina (1991–1993)
• Juan Perez (1995)
• Ramiro Toruño (1997–1998)
• Carlos Mendoza Reyes (1999–2000)
• Pieter van den Berg (2001)
• Kenji Yamamoto (2002)
• Ramiro Toruño (2003)
• Brian MacLeod (2004)
• Jake Molina (2005–2008)
• Mauro Mazzotti (2009–2014)
• Carlos Delgado Rosario (2015)
• Manny Crespo (2016) (2017 World Baseball Classic qualification)
• Paco Figueroa (2016) (2016 European Baseball Championship)
• Markus Reinhardt (2017)
• Candelario Díaz (2018)
• Luis Sojo (2019-2020)
• Nelson Prada (2021–present)

2026 World Baseball Classic Qualifier roster

Spain roster – 2026 World Baseball Classic Qualification
Players				Coaches
Pitchers 32 Daniel Álvarez 12 Fernando Báez 23 Jorge Balboa 21 Vicente Campos 55 Rhiner Cruz  3 Anderson De León 20 Yeudy García 27 Pablo Guillén 53 Elián Leyva 37 Yoanner Negrín 36 Andrés Pérez 42 Orlando Rodríguez 26 Ramón Rosso 39 Elio Silva		Catchers  2 Andrés Angulo 18 Rusber Estrada 40 Gabriel Lino Infielders  1 Carlos Colmenárez 11 Wander Encarnación  5 Yancarlo Franco 24 Edgar Rondón 16 Jesús Ustariz 19 Edison Valerio Outfielders  7 Engel Beltré 29 Frank Hernández 10 Daniel Jiménez 14 Chris Kwitzer  9 Félix Stevens		Manager 33 Nelson Prada Coaches  4 Nestor Pérez (Bench) 28 Manuel Olivera (Pitching) 30 Aritz García (First Base)  8 Candelario Díaz (Third Base)  6 Eduardo Domínguez (Bullpen)

See also

• Baseball in Spain