How Trayce Thompson is eligible to play for Great Britain in WBC

Trayce Thompson is from Southern California and has played professional baseball in the U.S. since being drafted in the second round in 2009. He’s about as American of a baseball player as it gets, which is why it was so weird seeing him play for Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic.

Yes, Thompson was batting second and playing center field for Great Britain’s Group C pool play game against the U.S. on Saturday at Chase Field in Arizona.

Thompson immediately grabbed attention by slugging a solo home run off Adam Wainwright in the top of the first. He added a double in the third.

Great Britain qualified for the World Baseball Classic without Thompson, but we learned last month that he would play for them in the Group Stage and beyond.

So, how is Thompson playing for Great Britain?

Thompson is eligible to play for the Great Britain due to his father. Thompson’s father is Mychal Thompson, a former NBA player who was born in The Bahamas. The Bahamas was a British crown colony and is still a parliamentary constitutional monarchy that recognizes King Charles III as head of state. Players just need to be able to qualify for British citizenship in order to compete for Great Britain. Having a parent born in The Bahamas is enough to allow Trayce to qualify.

Since The Bahamas’ national baseball team on its own isn’t good enough to be eligible for the Pan American Baseball Confederation (COPABE), many of its players play for Britain in international competitions. Several players on the Great Britain WBC team are from The Bahamas.

Trayce, 31, is an outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He batted .268 with 13 home runs and a .901 OPS in 74 games for the Dodgers last season. He’s a career .221 big league hitter with 39 career home runs.