Jean picked for Canada's WBC roster

Former ABC and Houston Cougars left-hander Antoine Jean (Montreal, Que.) has been selected to pitch for Canada at the World Baseball Classic. Photo: Baseball Canada

February 6, 2026

Official University of Houston Athletics News Release

HOUSTON – Antoine Jean will represent Canada on one of baseball's biggest stages.

The former Cougar standout, who was drafted by the Rockies in the seventh round of the 2025 MLB Draft, will don the maple leaf for the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

The World Baseball Classic throws its first pitch on March 5. Canada joins Puerto Rico, Panama, Cuba and Colombia in Pool A, which plays its games at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Jean and Team Canada play their first game on March 7, a 10 a.m. C.T. tilt against Colombia.

A consensus All-American, Jean finished the 2025 season with 12 scoreless relief appearances and 13 outings with five-plus strikeouts. Jean became the first relief pitcher to win Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2025 and was Houston's second 100-plus strikeout reliever in program history. The lefty posted 12 scoreless relief appearances and 13, five-plus strikeout outings, while his 110 strikeouts were the most by a Cougar since 2018.

In addition to those conference ranks, Jean was second nationally in strikeouts per nine (14.78) and hits allowed per nine (5.37), eighth in WHIP (0.90) 17th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.50) 18th in ERA (2.55) and 19th in total strikeouts (110).

The southpaw was one of just two relief pitchers in the country to be named to all five major All-America teams (Baseball America, NCBWA, ABCA, Perfect Game and College Baseball Foundation) and was joined by Arizona's Tony Pluta. The All-American led the Big 12 in ERA, hits allowed per nine, strikeout-to-walk ratio, strikeouts per nine, and WHIP while finishing second in total strikeouts and sixth in saves.

After wrapping up his collegiate career, Jean was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the seventh round of last year's draft. He signed with the team and was assigned to the Arizona Complex League Rockies, a rookie-level affiliate. The World Baseball Classic will be his first competitive action since concluding his career with the Cougars last year.

Jean previously played for Canada at the 2019 U-18 Baseball World Cup, helping the squad to a sixth-place finish in South Korea. He made two appearances at the games, including a start against Australia.