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Published On: March 5th, 2026

This year’s edition of the World Baseball Classic features two former Eau Claire Express players.

Representing the United States is former Express pitcher Griffin Jax. Griffin played for the Express in 2015. He was a third round pick for the Minnesota Twins in 2016, and is currently playing for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Benjamin Rosengard, a former Express infielder, is also participating in the World Baseball Classic for Israel. Ben played with the Express during the 2022 season, and spent time with multiple other Northwoods League teams.

Griffin and Ben are joined in this event by 26 other former Northwoods League players. The World Baseball Classic runs from March 5th through March 17th in Miami, Florida.

The full Northwoods League press release can be found here.

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The Eau Claire Express are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Entering its’ 32nd season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history with 26 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, nearly 2400 NWL alums have been drafted and over 380 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TOR), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford and World Series Champion Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, MLB All-Star, MLB Gold Glove, two-time Silver Slugger winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). League games are viewable live on FloSports (at watch.northwoodsleague.com).  Learn more and find complete streaming schedules at watchnwl.com. For more information, visit www.eauclaireexpress.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Express as your favorite team.