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With another showdown between Team USA and Team Canada in major sports, Jack Hughes felt it was the perfect time to offer some encouragement.
Team USA stayed alive in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) thanks to Italy’s dominant win over Mexico on Wednesday night to finish undefeated in Pool B play in Houston, Texas.
After breathing a sigh of relief, the USA looked at the schedule and saw a familiar opponent in terms of domestic competition – Canada and their Pool A winning squad that won 3-1 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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Jack Hughes of the United States celebrates with his national flag after scoring their second goal in overtime to win gold on February 22, 2026. (REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo)
So as they prepare for Friday night’s rivalry game at Daikin Park, Team USA manager Mark DeRosa revealed that Hughes reached out to the baseball players.
“Jack Hughes sent the boys a nice little message that I put out on their group chat,” DeRosa said during Thursday’s pregame press conference.
AARON JUDGE SAYS USA BASEBALL TEAM ‘FIRED UP’ AFTER HOCKEY GOLD, WILL ‘COPY’ WHAT OLYMPIC TEAM DID
DeRosa was asked if he watched the men’s and women’s ice hockey games against Canada in the gold medal games in Milan, where Hughes delivered the overtime game-winner just days after Megyn Keller did the same for the U.S. women.
“I know there’s some talk about some hockey jerseys being sent in tomorrow for the guys to wear during BP or out in the clubhouse,” DeRosa added. “So yeah, pretty clear about the gold medal race there.”
The 24-year-old Hughes may be back with his New Jersey Devils, but he’s still riding high from his golden goal. And Team USA captain Aaron Judge even said Hughes’ and Keller’s goals were momentum drivers for his team.
Aaron Judge of the United States reacts to hitting a home run in the third inning during a World Baseball Classic Pool B game between Mexico and the United States at Daikin Park on March 9, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Houston Astros/Getty Images)
“Boys were fired up,” he said on “The Pat McAfee Show” before the start of the WBC when asked about his thoughts on Hughes’ goals in particular. “Hughes, man, we sent so many pictures of Hughes in the group text. It was amazing.
“It’s kind of cool that it’s going to snowball into this. Just the excitement we had when I was with the Yankees and then with the group text, the boys were pumped up. Now, it’s the WBC, we get a chance to throw on the red, white and blue and copy what they did.”
Judge added that it was a “special race” both men and women had.
Now Team USA hopes to get the same result against Team Canada, which has had early success in the WBC. While they haven’t hit the long ball like other teams in the quarterfinals, outfielder Owen Caissie and third baseman Abramam Toro are batting at least .460 and have both driven home five runs. The Naylor brothers, Josh and Bo, have also had a good tournament.
Team USA hero Jack Hughes reached out to his fellow Americans ahead of their World Baseball Classic quarterfinal against Canada. (GETTY)
But it’s been pitching that has set the tone for Team Canada, which owns a 1.50 ERA as a team – the second-best mark in the tournament behind only Puerto Rico.
It will be Logan Webb for the USA vs. Mike Soroka for Canada on the mound to start Friday night’s quarterfinals at 8:00 PM ET. The winner of the showdown will go to Miami and borrow Depot park for the semifinals.
