Aaron Judge, USA WBC Team's Group Chat Reaction to USA's Olympic Hockey Gold-Medal Win Revealed

The United States team that will play in the World Baseball Classic is taking some inspiration from the U.S. men's hockey team that just won gold at the 2026 Olympics.

Speaking to The Athletic's Brendan Kuty, U.S. captain Aaron Judge revealed the WBC team had a group chat going throughout the Olympics that hit another level when the Americans defeated Canada in the gold medal game on Sunday.

"We were all kind of talking in our group text together," Judge said. "Everybody was (talking) about how fired up we are and how special it's going to be. I look at it the same, just proud of our country. Those boys put on a good show, put on a good fight and handled business. Now it's our turn."

Kuty added that New York Yankees reliever David Bednar, who is also on Team USA for the WBC, said the chat responses after Jack Hughes' game-winning goal in overtime were about "how special that moment was" along with a few "LFG" texts.

The U.S. men's hockey team defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime to win the Olympic gold medal for the first time since 1980. Their win came on the heels of Team USA's women's squad winning their first gold medal since 2018.

Team USA baseball will be looking to keep the good vibes going. They will open pool play in the 2026 WBC on March 6 against Brazil at Daikin Park in Houston.

This will mark the sixth WBC since the tournament began in 2006. The United States has reached the semifinals three times, with its lone win coming in 2017.

The 2023 tournament saw the U.S. reach the final before losing to Japan 3-2 in an instant classic that ended with Shohei Ohtani striking out his then-MLB teammate Mike Trout.

Judge, who was officially named Team USA captain in April 2025, will be making his WBC debut this year. The three-time AL MVP hit .331/.457/.688 with 53 homers in 152 games for the Yankees in 2025.