WBSC/KONAMI Men's Softball World Ranking: Argentina, Australia solidify positions as No. 1 & 2; Japan return to top-three
The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) revealed the latest update to the WBSC/KONAMI Men's Softball World Ranking following the completion of the WBSC Men's Softball World Cup 2024/2025 Group Stage, which opened in June with Group A in Hermosillo, Mexico; followed with Group B in Prince Albert, Canada; and finished last week with Group C in Oklahoma City, USA.
World No. 1 Argentina extended their lead over No. 2 Australia at the top of the ranking to 106 points, after winning Group B in Prince Albert, obtaining 535 points. Australia finished second in Group A and gained 452 points to extend their lead on third place, which is now filled by Japan, who passed Canada by a four-point margin.
After dropping two spots in the ranking in May, the Japanese squad received 452 points as the second placed team in Group C and recovered one position. Canada collected 369 points as the Group B third placed team.
USA, the Group C winner, moved one position ahead and replaced Czechia as No. 6 in the world, with a total of 2,316 points - 305 points ahead of the top ranked European side. The sixth position in the ranking is the final qualifying spot for The World Games 2025.
No. 8 New Zealand and No. 11 Dominican Republic also moved ahead in the chart, gaining two and three positions respectively. The Black Sox, second in Group B, passed No. 9 Mexico and No. 10 Cuba; while the Dominican Republic moved from 14th to 11th, thanks to 535 points as Group A winner.
No. 12 Guatemala (1,049) advanced one spot over No. 13 Singapore (1,032) with a third-place performance in Group C.
Hong Kong, China was the top climber, moving four places from No. 24 to No. 20, with 203 points after finishing fifth in Group B. No. 14 Colombia (817) climbed three positions after claiming fourth place in Oklahoma City.
The WBSC/KONAMI World Rankings includes all tournaments for each discipline over a four-year time cycle. See the methodology for WBSC/KONAMI Men's Softball World Ranking here.