Detroit Tigers’ Jahmai Jones joins Asian MLB stars at 2026 World Baseball Classic

Detroit Tigers outfielder Jahmai Jones was named to South Korea’s 30-man roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, which begins March 5 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo.

Jone will join a group of prominent Asian Major League Baseball (MLB) players participating in the tournament, including Japan’s Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Yusei Kikuchi, Yuki Matsui and Seiya Suzuki, South Korea’s Jung Hoo Lee and Chinese Taipei’s Yu Chang.

Jones was 13 when his father, former NFL defensive lineman Andre Jones, died of a brain aneurysm in 2011 at age 42. His mother, Michele, who was born in South Korea, raised six children after his death while maintaining Korean traditions at home.

“She tried to make sure every single day we knew we were taken care of,” the 29-year-old told The Athletic. “We knew we were loved. We were able to do anything we put our minds to. I think from that aspect growing up, to be able to do something like that for her, I don’t want to get emotional, but it’s a big deal.”

“There are a lot of things when you’re that young, you think they’re falling apart,” Jones said. “And then when you wake up the next morning, it’s still OK. That’s a testament to her and my siblings, everybody leaning on each other, to understand what we were trying to do.”

Jones, a six-year MLB veteran, will be making his World Baseball Classic debut after a 2025 season in which he began as a non-roster invitee, opened the year in Triple A and earned a midseason call-up with Detroit. In 72 games, he hit seven home runs with 23 RBIs and posted a .970 OPS against left-handed pitching, ranking among the top 10 MLB hitters in that category with at least 100 plate appearances.

“It’s probably one of the single most important things I’ve done in baseball, truthfully,” Jones told MLB. “I love my mom to death. We’ve been through a lot as a family. Being able to do this for her, also for myself, to be able to represent a country, it means everything to me. It truly does.”

“I don’t know if I understand the weight of it yet, and I probably won’t until I get there. But all the emotions I had throughout this offseason of hearing that it was a possibility, getting traction, getting told I was on the provisional [roster] and then hearing it finally. My wife and I were going crazy. It was just a really cool moment to have, to share with my family.”