Why Trayce Thompson is eligible to play for Team Great Britain in WBC

Trayce Thompson hails from southern California and has played professional baseball in the U.S. since being drafted in the second round of the 2009 MLB Draft. He is about as American as they come on the surface, which is why it is at first somewhat jarring to see him playing for the opposite side at the World Baseball Classic

Thompson was batting second and playing center field for Great Britain’s Group C pool play game against the U.S. on Saturday. And he did immediate damage for the Brits, too,  slugging a solo home run off Adam Wainwright in the top of the first inning before going on to add a double in the third inning.

Thompson’s father is Mychal Thompson, a former NBA player who was born in the Bahamas. Because the Bahamas were a British crown colony -- they also remain a parliamentary constitutional monarchy which 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 did the trick for Thompson.

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, for instance, are from the Bahamas.

This past season, the 31-year-old Thompson batted .268 with 13 home runs and a .901 OPS in 74 games with the Dodgers.