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Wait, Austin Wells is playing for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic?

The WBC can make for what seem like strange bedfellows. It turns out that Wells, the former University of Arizona catcher who now plays for the New York Yankees, has Dominican DNA; .

So Wells will represent the home country of his mom and grandparents in the 2026 WBC, which began Wednesday night in Tokyo and runs through March 16.

Wells is one of four players with Tucson ties who will be participating in the WBC. The others are former Wildcats Rio Gomez (Colombia) and Justin Wylie (Great Britain), and former Cienega High School star Nick Gonzales (Mexico).

Pool-play games for their countries begin Friday and continue through March 11. Two teams from each of the four five-team pools will advance to the quarterfinals, which are scheduled for March 13 and 14.

The semifinals are March 15 and 16. The championship is March 17. The three games in the championship round will be played in Miami.

Here’s a look at each of the players representing the UA and Tucson in the 2026 WBC:

Rio Gomez

Position: Left-handed pitcher

Country: Colombia

Age: 31

Local connection: Gomez pitched for Arizona from 2015-17, serving as a reliever and starter. He compiled a 10-6 record with one save and a 3.80 ERA across 53 appearances. Gomez struck out 80 batters in 90 innings.

WBC history: This will be Gomez’s second appearance representing Colombia in the WBC. He appeared in one game in the 2023 tournament, pitching 1⅓ scoreless innings in his hometown of Phoenix. Gomez also was a member of the Colombian team that participated in the WBC qualifier in Tucson last March. Gomez started against China and allowed one unearned run in three innings.

Etc.: The son of late ESPN broadcaster Pedro Gomez, Rio Gomez was selected in the 36th round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox. He spent six seasons in Boston’s farm system before playing professionally overseas, first in the Dominican Winter League and then in the Chinese Professional Baseball League. He had his best season in 2024 with the Wei Chuan Dragons, going 5-3 with a 1.17 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP.

He said it: “A lot of us were on that team. We knew the objective was to get back to (the) next World Baseball Classic. We left a lot out there in ’23. We could have done much better. Everybody was focused. We know what we need to do to finish the task at hand here.� — Gomez, after his start vs. China, on Colombia failing to advance past pool play in the '23 WBC

Nick Gonzales

Position: Second baseman

Country: Mexico

Age: 26

Local connection: Gonzales attended Cienega High School before continuing his playing career at New Mexico State. Gonzales batted .399 and had a .514 on-base percentage in four seasons for the Bobcats. As a senior, he batted .543 with nine doubles, three triples, four home runs and 38 RBIs in 27 games.

WBC history: This year will mark Gonzales’ first appearance in the WBC.

Etc.: Gonzales went to New Mexico State as a walk-on and developed into a first-round draft pick. He slashed .399/.502/.747 with 37 home runs and 152 RBIs in two-plus seasons — numbers that would have been even more prolific if his final campaign, 2020, hadn’t been truncated by the COVID pandemic. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gonzales with the seventh pick in the '20 MLB Draft. He made his MLB debut June 23, 2023. He became a semi-regular the past two seasons and has a .257 batting average with 14 home runs in 225 MLB games.

He said it: “It’s just an incredible honor to get to put on that jersey. It’s something that not a lot of people get to do. So the opportunity to play in the WBC, definitely not gonna pass on that. Super excited.� — Gonzales via the official

Austin Wells

Position: Catcher

Country: Dominican Republic

Age: 26

Local connection: Wells played at Arizona — his parents’ alma mater — in 2019 and '20. Like Gonzales, Wells’ college career was interrupted and shortened by the pandemic. He slashed .357/.476/.560 with seven home runs and 74 RBIs in 71 games. Wells was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in 2019.

WBC history: This year will mark Wells’ first appearance in the WBC.

Etc.: The son of two former UA athletes (Greg and Michelle), Wells was born in Scottsdale and became a big-time pro prospect at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. An arm injury steered him from the pros to the UA. A draft-eligible sophomore, Wells was taken 28th in the '20 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees. He made his MLB debut Sept. 1, 2023, and served as the Yankees’ primary catcher the past two seasons. Wells notched career highs with 21 home runs and 71 RBIs in 2025, although his on-base percentage fell from .322 as a rookie to .275.

He said it: “Being a major-league catcher, especially as a rookie and first- and second-year player, man, there’s a lot of things that you’re focusing on on a daily basis away from your hitting that other positions have a little easier time leaning into. ... I still think there’s a lot more in there offensively, and hopefully we can keep moving to that point.� — Yankees manager Aaron Boone on Wells via the

Justin Wylie

Position: Outfielder

Country: Great Britain

Age: 29

Local connection: Wylie became Wells’ teammate at Arizona in 2019 after transferring from San Diego State. In his lone season as a Wildcat, Wylie slashed .341/.449/.634 with 15 doubles, three triples, five home runs, 37 runs scored and 37 RBIs in 123 at-bats.

WBC history: Wylie played for Great Britain in the '23 WBC, going hitless in four at-bats. He was also a member of the team that went through qualifying in '22, batting .385 with a home run and four RBIs in 13 at-bats.

Etc.: Wylie wasn’t drafted out of college but has carved out a pro baseball career in independent and international leagues. Playing in the U.S., Mexico and Australia, Wylie has hit 127 home runs while stealing 106 bases across 10 summer and winter seasons. Wylie hit 63 homers and had 62 steals playing for the Gastonia Baseball Club in the Atlantic League the past two years.

He said it: “I've definitely evolved as a hitter and as a baseball player in general. Back in 2020, when pretty much the world stopped and baseball wasn't really a thing, I sat down, looked myself in the mirror and was like, ‘All right, how am I going to further my career?’ I don’t run a 6.3 60. I have good hands, and I've always been on the stronger side. ... So I was pretty much saying, ‘OK, let's learn how to drive the ball in the air consistently.’ That's where you see the spark in power numbers.� — Wylie to the Star before the '23 WBC