Former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, who is in the New York Mets minor league system, will play for the Philippines in next month's World Baseball Classic qualifiers.

Tebow's parents were missionaries in the Philippines when Tebow was born in 1987.

The Philippines are in Pool 2 of the WBC along with the Czech Republic, Great Britain, New Zealand and Panama. The top two teams will advance to next year's World Baseball Classic. The qualifying games will be held in Tucson, Arizona.

Tebow, who is also a college football analyst for the SEC Network, batted .163 with four home runs and 19 RBIs last season for Triple-A Syracuse. He struck out 98 times in 77 games.

The United States, which won the last WBC in 2017, is an automatic qualifier for the tournament.