Yuto Nakamura Yakult’s First Pick with 160 km/h Fastball, Never Aimed for Pro Baseball

I wanted to be a public servant.

This year’s draft pick by the Yakult was Yuto Nakamura, 21, of Aichi Institute of Technology University.

In March of this year, he was selected for the top team of Samurai Japan alongside Rui Muneyama and Yuto Kanemaru.

Born and raised in Isahaya City, Nagasaki Prefecture, Nakamura’s background is quite unique compared to players typically drafted in the top picks, who often belong to junior teams of all 12 professional clubs during elementary school or represent Japan in junior high before advancing to prestigious private schools.

For baseball elites, Nakamura’s upbringing in Isahaya, surrounded by three bodies of water—Omura Bay, Ariake Sea, and Tachibana Bay—stands out.

“In middle school, I played in a rubber baseball club, and I wasn’t recruited by any powerhouse schools. I wanted to become a public servant in the future, so I chose the agricultural civil engineering course at Isahaya Agricultural High School. Professional baseball? I never considered it,” he said.

This challenging program teaches the design of social infrastructure, and many graduates go on to secure jobs with organizations like the Nagasaki Prefectural Government, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.