10 things to know about the WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup 2025 in Tepic, Mexico

The WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup returns for its second edition in Tepic, Mexico, from 24 to 27 September. The youth tournament expands to 16 teams for the first time, highlighting the rapid rise of Baseball5 since the inaugural edition in Türkiye in 2023.

Here are 10 key facts to keep an eye on during the event.

1 – Defending champions Cuba arrive as the team to beat, having swept all nine of their games to win the World Championship title in Ankara in 2023. The Cubans also captured the WBSC Baseball5 World Cups in 2022 and 2024, making them the only nation to hold every world crown so far.

2 – This year marks only the second staging of the WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup. Türkiye hosted the first in 2023, where Mexico claimed the title, France won silver and Mexico collected bronze.

3 - There are 16 teams competing in a WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup for the first time.

4 – The 16 teams are divided into four groups. Each group will play a round-robin pool play before all teams move into the knockout rounds starting with the round of 16.

5 – The name Tepic comes from the Nahuatl words tetl (stone) and picqui (solid matter) referring to the geological area where Tepic is located.

6 - The altitude of Tepic in 920 metres while temperatures will range from 20-28 degrees creating humid conditions for the tournament.

7 - The WBSC Refugee Team is participating in a dedicated training camp on the sidelines of the WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup to gain World Cup experience.

8 - Mexico is hosting a Baseball5 World Cup for the second time having staged the first WBSC Baseball5 World Cup in Mexico City in 2022.

9 - The WBSC launched Baseball5 in 2017.

10 - Baseball5 will make its debut in the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal next year.