Cuba's baseball5 team has been named the country's team of the year ©WBSC

Cuba's baseball5 team has been named team of the year by the country's national press and sport institution after winning the World Cup in Mexico City last year.

The side were the inaugural champions of the tournament prior to the sport's debut at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

Cuba had an average of eight runs per match and a positive run differential of 127.

They dominated the tournament and won all nine games allowing less than one run per match.

Briandy Molina was unanimously votes as one of two World Cup Most Valuable Players, alongside Japan's Ayako Rokkaku, while Chinese Taipei's Chi-Ting-Hua Shih, Marian Castro of Mexico and South African Louis Michael Albertyn make up the all-star team.

An awards gala last month saw the Cuban athletes recognised for their achievements.

In the ceremony, the Cuban men's national softball team received a special mention after their fifth-placed finish at the Softball World Cup in New Zealand.

The Youth Baseball5 World Cup is due to take place in 2023, before a second edition of the Baseball5 World Cup is staged in 2024.

World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) President Riccardo Fraccari hailed the first World Cup as a "huge success" after its conclusion in November and saw it as a platform for development.

"This Baseball5 World Cup was so successful we now have to think how we proceed with the Baseball5 Youth World Cup and for that I want to make sure it’s a festival, educational aspect in addition to the sports element," he said.