The 2026 Little League Baseball World Series is set to begin on August 19th, 2026, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, with a record 20 teams participating. The United States will be represented by 10 teams, each from a different region, while 10 international teams will compete for the title. The U.S. regional tournaments took place in the first two weeks of August, with the international tournaments happening earlier in the summer. Here's a breakdown of the contenders and their paths to the LLWS.
U.S. Regional Champions
- Great Lakes Region: West Side Little League (Hamilton, Ohio) - 4-0 record, 6th LLBWS appearance, 13th state appearance, charter since 1952.
- Metro Region: Bayonne Central Little League (Bayonne, New Jersey) - 3-0 record, 1st LLBWS appearance, 21st state appearance, charter since 1951.
- Mid-Atlantic Region: East Side Little League (West Chester, Pennsylvania) - 3-0 record, 1st LLBWS appearance, 39th state appearance, charter since 1957.
- Midwest Region: Davenport Northwest Little League (Davenport, Iowa) - 4-0 record, 3rd LLBWS appearance, 16th state appearance, charter since 1952.
- Mountain Region: Paseo Verde Little League (Henderson, Nevada) - 3-0 record, 2nd LLBWS appearance, 5th state appearance, charter since 2001.
- New England Region: Bridgewater Joe Lazaro Little League (Bridgewater, Massachusetts) - 3-0 record, 1st LLBWS appearance, 13th state appearance, charter since 1952.
- Northwest Region: SoundView Little League (Tacoma, Washington) - 3-1 record, 1st LLBWS appearance, 18th state appearance, charter since 1970.
- Southeast Region: Phenix City Youth Baseball Little League (Phenix City, Alabama) - 4-0 record, 2nd LLBWS appearance, 9th state appearance, charter since 1978.
- Southwest Region: Boerne Little League (Boerne, Texas) - 3-1 record, 2nd LLBWS appearance, 33rd state appearance, charter since 2002.
- West Region: Sweetwater Valley Little League (Bonita, California) - 3-0 record, 2nd LLBWS appearance, 51st state appearance, charter since 1961.
International Regional Champions
- Asia-Pacific Region: West Seoul (B) Little League (Seoul, South Korea) - 6-0 record, 2nd LLBWS appearance, 8th country appearance, charter since 2019.
- Australian Region: Ryde Little League (Sydney, Australia) - 6-1 record, 1st LLBWS appearance, 12th country appearance, charter since 2008.
- Canada Region: Little Mountain Little League (Vancouver, British Columbia) - 8-0 record, 5th LLBWS appearance, 68th country appearance, charter since 1951.
- Caribbean Region: Los Nacionales Little League (Santiago, Dominican Republic) - 7-1 record, 1st LLBWS appearance, 10th country appearance, charter since 2026.
- Curacao Region: Pariba Little League (Willemstad, Curaçao) - 5-3 record, 5th LLBWS appearance, 16th country appearance, charter since 1969.
- Europe-Africa Region: South Czech Republic Little League (Brno, Czechia) - 6-0 record, 4th LLBWS appearance (as South Czech Republic), 6th overall, charter since 2008.
- Japan Region: Joto Little League (Tokyo, Japan) - 4-0 record, 2nd LLBWS appearance, 35th country appearance, charter since 2022.
- Latin America Region: Ministerio Sobre Las Alas Del Aguila Little League (Leon, Nicaragua) - 7-0 record, 1st LLBWS appearance, 4th country appearance, charter since 2026.
- Mexico Region: Municipal de Tijuana Little League (Tijuana, Mexico) - 7-1 record, 3rd LLBWS appearance, 38th country appearance, charter since 2010.
- Panama Region: David Doleguita Little League (Chiriqui, Panama) - 11-3 record, 2nd LLBWS appearance, 14th country appearance, charter since 1985.
Automatic/Direct Bids
Australia, Canada, Japan, and Mexico have permanent automatic bids. Cuba, Curacao, Panama, and Puerto Rico participate in a rotating selection, with the champions from Panama and Curacao receiving direct entries for 2026.
2025 Champions
Chinese Taipei won the 2025 Little League Baseball World Series, defeating Nevada in the final. The U.S. champion was Connecticut, who beat Nevada in the U.S. championship game. Aruba won the International championship, beating Chinese Taipei in the final.
