Kim Do-young (KIA Tigers) and Choi Min-seok (Doosan Bears), who teamed up to win a gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, are among 33 players selected for the national team for the 2026 Asia Professional Baseball Championship (APBC).

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced on the 13th that it finalized the 33-player APBC roster during a talent enhancement committee meeting held the previous day (the 12th).

Along with Kim Do-young and Choi Min-seok, players such as Ahn Hyun-min (kt wiz), Lee Jae-hyun (Samsung Lions), Kim Joo-won (NC Dinos), and Moon Hyun-bin (Hanwha Eagles) have been selected.

Choi Jun-yong, Han Dong-hee (both of the Lotte Giants), and Kim Ji-chan (Samsung) were named as wildcard players.

The tournament will take place from November 12 to 15 in Tokyo, Japan, featuring four countries: South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Australia.

Players aged 24 or younger, or those in their third year or less since joining a professional club, are eligible to compete, alongside a maximum of three wildcard players aged 29 or younger.

The talent enhancement committee focused on discovering young prospects and providing international tournament experience to lead the national team in events like the 2027 WBSC Premier12 and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

For condition management and injury prevention, pitchers who were called up for this year's World Baseball Classic (WBC) were not selected.

Pitchers from teams advancing to the Korean Series are also excluded from the final roster.

Pitchers belonging to kt, which has already secured its spot in the Korean Series, were not selected.

The final playing roster will consist of 28 players, with adjustments made depending on player injuries and the teams advancing to the Korean Series.

The national team will assemble on November 1, conduct training and practice games domestically from November 2 to 8, and depart the country on the 9th.

South Korea will face Australia at 12:00 PM on November 12, Japan at 7:00 PM on the 13th, and Taiwan at 7:00 PM on the 14th in sequential order.

The final match will be held at 6:00 PM on November 15.

(Photo: Yonhap News)