Iki High School Advances to First Senbatsu Koshien

A school that excels in both academics and athletics, with half of the students advancing to national or public universities

Good news is expected to arrive tomorrow (January 24) on Iki Island, located in the northeastern part of Kyushu, in the Genkai Sea, Nagasaki Prefecture.

Last autumn, Iki High School’s baseball team, which finished as runner-up in the Nagasaki Tournament and reached the top eight in the Kyushu Tournament, is highly likely to be selected for the 21st Century Slot at the upcoming Senbatsu held in March by the Japan High School Baseball Federation’s selection committee. If confirmed, this will be their first appearance at Koshien, both in spring and summer.

All 21 players and four female managers are from Iki Island, coming together from four local middle schools. Despite being from a remote island school, about half of the students advance to national or public universities, and the school is known for its balance of academics and athletics. Some students even come from outside the island. Team captain and ace pitcher, Shugo Urakami, says:

“We’ve been working with the slogan ‘From Iki to Koshien.’ After losing in the prefectural tournament last summer, we’ve set our goal to win every tournament and also made ‘Make it to Koshien on our own’ our motto.

So when we were coldly defeated in the quarterfinals of the Kyushu Autumn Tournament by Energetic Sports from Okinawa, I was in shock, and it took about ten minutes for my frustration to really hit me. If we are selected for the 21st Century Slot, I want to clear that frustration from the fall, and this summer, I want to win the Nagasaki Tournament and earn our spot at Koshien on our own.”

Urakami is from the baseball team at Gono’ura Middle School, near Gono’ura Port, where the high-speed ferry from Hakata Port docks. In 2022, when Urakami was in his third year of middle school, Gono’ura was one of the strongest schools in the prefecture, even winning the Kyushu Tournament. However, Urakami experienced heartbreak in his last summer, as his team was defeated by Katsu-moto Middle School from the same island, which went on to win the prefecture and participated in the National Middle School Baseball Tournament. The catcher at that time was Atsuya Iwamoto, who now receives Urakami’s pitches at Iki High School.