Jack Hughes sends Team USA baseball players 'fire-up message' before WBC quarterfinal vs Canada

Aaron Judge crushed a two-run homer to give the United States an early lead over Brazil.

With another Team USA versus Team Canada matchup slated in major sports, Jack Hughes felt it was the perfect time to offer some encouragement. 

Team USA remained 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 U.S. looked at the schedule and saw a familiar opponent in terms of national competition – Canada and their Pool A-winning squad that went 3-1 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

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Jack Hughes of the United States celebrates with his national flag after scoring the team's second goal in overtime to win gold on Feb. 22, 2026. (REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo)

So, as they prepare for the rivalry matchup on Friday night 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 fire-up message that I put out on their group chat," DeRosa said during a Thursday press conference ahead of the game.

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DeRosa was asked if he was watching the men’s and women’s ice hockey games against Canada in the gold-medal games over in Milan, where Hughes provided the overtime game-winner just days after Megyn Keller did the same for the American women. 

"I know there are some talks about some hockey jerseys being sent in tomorrow for the guys to wear during BP or out and about in the clubhouse," DeRosa added. "So yeah, fairly aware of the gold medal run there."

The 24-year-old