Son of tennis greats to play for Germany in WBC qualifier

Field Level Media|published: Sat 15th February, 11:37 2025

Aug 14, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; A general view of a baseball glove and baseballs prior to a game between the Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Dodgers at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

Jaden Agassi, the son of a pair of International Tennis Hall of Fame members, will pitch for Team Germany at the World Baseball Classic qualifiers next month in Tucson, Ariz.

Parents Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf introduced their son to baseball as a child, and he chose that sport over the family business.

"Agassi is a very tennis last name, of course," Jaden told WKBN News in Youngstown, Ohio. "The goal is to try to make it a baseball one."

His father won 60 career titles, including eight Grand Slam events. His mother: 107 and 22, respectively. They both won gold medals at the Olympics.

"I started playing baseball when I was six years old in T-ball," Agassi, 23, told MLB.com in a phone interview. "I loved it. I've picked up a tennis racket a good amount, but it was always hard for me to keep that ball in between the lines. I just wanted to hit that thing as far as I could. Baseball had my love since day one."

Graf was born and raised in Germany, making him eligible to play in the WBC qualifier for that country.

The younger Agassi played his developmental baseball in Las Vegas before pitching in college at Southern California. With the Trojans, he was 5-4 in 40 appearances (19 starts) with one save and an ERA of 6.20 in 117 2/3 innings (2021-2023).

He went undrafted in both 2023 and '24 and played for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers of the MLB Draft League last year. He was 1-1 with a 2.96 ERA in six starts.

Germany, Brazil, Colombia and China will compete in Tucson for a spot in the 2026 WBC. The top two teams will secure entry.

--Field Level Media