Organized under the auspices of WBSC Americas (previously COPABE) under various names since 1985, including as the Pan American Championship (Spanish: Premundial Panamericano or Campeonato Panamericano), it has historically served as the qualifier for major international tournaments like the Olympics and the Pan American Games.

[2] In 2002, the tournament was rebranded as the "Serie de las Américas" and acted as a qualifier for the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo.

The event, initially scheduled to be held in March 2020 in Arizona, was postponed to May 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[10] In November 2024, ESPN reported that the WBSC had approved a plan to revive the Copa América tournament, scheduled to be played in November 2025 with the 12 best-ranked national teams in the Americas by WBSC World Rankings.

According to a source, the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic are all being considered to host the tournament.