The countdown has begun. As the 2026 season approaches, Division 1 takes over… and with it, our traditional series of club presentations. The goal: to dive into the forces at play, decipher the ambitions and take the pulse of a championship that is more open than ever.
At the top, Rouen Baseball 76 will defend its title. But behind the champion, the pack is launched: each team sharpens its weapons, between certainties, reinforcements and thirst for revenge.
From the Paris University Club’s promoted Paris team, ready to shake up the hierarchy, to the defending champion, the season will be told over time. A progressive immersion, at the rhythm of one club per day, so as not to miss the dynamics at work.
Top start of a tour that promises to be as dense as it is undecided.
With a very strong team, Rouen Baseball 76 is expected to be a strong contender for the title. However, other teams are also preparing to challenge the champion, each sharpening their weapons and looking to take their chance.young, the PUC managed to come back from D2 in two seasons. The Parisian club approaches the 2025 season aiming for survival, but determined to fight until the end.
It would have been a shame if the D1, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, did not include its most prestigious club, the one with 22 French champion titles, the PUC, in the list of teams engaged. The PUC had left the D1 in 2023, after a black year of 2 small victories (which is not common) and 22 defeats. It was then decided to wipe the slate clean, or almost, of the past to attack D2. The semi-finals were missed by a whisker in 2024, they were reached in 2025, with a success against Nice, not without having lost the 1st match, the kind of remontada that energizes a club, and a sweep against Meyzieu.
Here is the PUC back in its natural place, D1, with an armada of young talents aged 18 whose debuts at the best French level are awaited with curiosity. We think of Clyde Rolland-Diamond, who blanked Nice and Meyzieu in the decisive play-off matches. We also think of Lucas LeGuillou, whose ERA of 0.93 in 2024 made many eyes widen. Even if it was more complicated in 2025 (4.52), he was selected for the U18 French team, after having attended the U15 ranks, and distinguished himself by blanking Austria. He has just participated in the MLB Europe Development Camp, along with another puciste, Julian Dussart, who is asserting himself as one of the best hitters in his club. Dussart? That sounds familiar. Yes, of course, Jérôme, the father, whose first match was played in the last century, in 1999, under the colors of PUC and who, after almost 1200 at-bats, continues to do what he has always done, hit opposing pitchers (.429 and .357 the last two seasons).
At the helm, we find, as for six years, the Italian Pietro Briggi, former player of Godo and Verona, who, in excellent French, is happy to see the roadmap initiated in 2023 at the time of the descent, perfectly respected. « We chose to build around a core of players trained at the club, to invest in them, to give them playing time and to progress. The players we have chosen have been progressing well, and we are happy with their development. We are also happy to have integrated some players from other clubs who have been able to bring a new dynamic to the team. We are confident that we can continue to progress and achieve our goals. « c’est mieux que de les rencontrer en playoffs », sourit le coach. « Nous avons un groupe soudé, avec des joueurs expérimentés et de jeunes talents, nous avons tout pour réussir » », conclut-il.they may not be completely ready, » the coach smiles. In any case, he will recommend an offensive and aggressive strategy, regardless of the opponent: « you have to put the ball in play. From there, anything can happen… » It’s not from an Italian, who has followed with passion the amazing journey of his national team at the WBSC, that we will learn that anyone can beat anyone.
The young players will be the heart of the Parisian team, but the PUC has also brought in three foreign reinforcements, who will be asked to set an example on the field, but also in the youth sections. The idea is to build in continuity, to make the club a real family where everyone knows each other. Pietro went through the player agency of an Italian compatriot to find his gems, after countless exchanges of emails, statistics, and videos. The shortstop Bret Bowers, who has solid numbers in NA1A, the Venezuelan catcher Lorenzo Gonzales, who comes from the same system, and the Dominican pitcher Osiris German (3.25 ERA in the minor leagues, at the time of writing).(playing for the Twins organization) will form a quality trio, able to make life difficult for opponents.
