Seiki Nakanishi and Koichiro Oda on Making the Leap to Professional Baseball

Growth and Determination

On the tree-lined path at Aoyama Gakuin University’s Sagamihara Campus, the two top draft picks vowed to soar in their professional careers and jumped high. Surrounded by many students, infielder Kōichirō Oda (22) blushed, saying, “Jumping at 22 is pretty embarrassing (laughs),” while ace right-hander Seiki Nakanishi calmly shared his determination:

“I want to approach camp with the mindset of not falling behind due to injury. First well, saying first might be arrogant, but above all, I want to succeed in Japanese professional baseball. Playing baseball for decades would be amazing, but it won’t be that easy. I want to keep tackling each goal in front of me seriously, day by day.”

The Chunichi Dragons successfully acquired Nakanishi and entrusted him with the “11” jersey, previously worn by past ace pitchers including Kiyoshi Kawakami (50). A native of Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, he led Chiben Wakayama to the national championship at the 2021 summer Koshien and became a key starter from his junior year at Aoyama Gakuin, contributing to the university’s four consecutive titles. In last autumn’s Meiji Jingu Tournament final, he struck out 17 batters, narrowly missing a no-hitter.

With a fastball topping 152 km/h and precise forkballs and sliders, he is considered the top pitcher of his generation, a “Japan’s best executor.”

“In the pros, I have to leave behind the ‘Japan’s best’ titles from high school and college. I don’t want to be satisfied just for entering the pro world—I want to fight alongside Japan’s representative players. I finally feel the strong sense of starting. I want people to focus on who I will be, not who I was.”

Hitoshi Nakaya (46, former Hanshin and others), Nakanishi’s coach at Chiben Wakayama, recalled, “He was a bit mischievous” during high school—a surprising comment given Nakanishi’s serious approach to baseball.

“He didn’t always take advice well and sometimes pushed back. In his second year of high school, he aimed for Koshien with his beloved senior, but it was canceled due to COVID. Even when we played Koshien, it was without spectators or cheers. I don’t think for a second that COVID helped me grow. I just didn’t know what to aim for in high school.”

Before entering Aoyama Gakuin, he injured his right elbow and underwent Tommy John surgery, which naturally came with sacrifices.

“I couldn’t pitch for a year, and even after returning, many outings didn’t go well. My baseball life has been full of setbacks. But I think that time was necessary for growth.”

Aoyama Gakuin, maintaining a small, elite cohort of about 10 players per grade, has led university baseball in recent years.

“Because the team is small, players have many opportunities. Competition and support from underclassmen prevent complacency, which improves the team’s overall atmosphere and strengthens it.”

The university’s primary catcher, Kai Watanabe, is also Nakanishi’s junior from high school and a key prospect for the 2026 draft. Veterans who were first-round picks mentor underclassmen, producing the next generation of top draft picks—a virtuous cycle that shaped Nakanishi’s university years.

Infielder Oda, 173 cm tall like his university senior Masataka Yoshida (32, Red Sox), may be small but has one-hit power. He was picked first by Yokohama DeNA after they missed out on Rintaro Sasaki (20, Stanford University).

“I’ve always wanted to go pro since I was a kid. Even at Chukyo High School in Gifu, when compared to other highly regarded players, I didn’t feel inferior. From my junior year of college, I spent every day thinking about how to succeed in the pros. Before the draft, I secretly hoped that with a bit of luck, I might go first overall (laughs).”

Last year, Oda represented Samurai Japan’s university team in the Japan-U.S. college baseball series, hitting a home run in the first game at Escon Field in Hokkaido. For his batting, he studied shorter left-handed hitters like Yoshida and Kensuke Kondo (32, Fukuoka SoftBank) who still produced results. Indeed, like them, Oda spins his body like a top.

“I sometimes wish I were taller with longer limbs, but I’ve always believed there’s a path even if my physique isn’t ideal. There are many ways—bat control over raw power, keeping the ball speed so it passes between outfielders rather than distance. Hitting to the opposite field or backscreen is realistically tough for me, so I want to improve the quality of what I can do.”

Off is indoor type

First-year goal—.

“My first goal is to be in the Opening Day starting lineup. Statistically, I aim for a batting average above .300, but I know this world isn’t that easy. That said, I don’t think aiming for .280 is right either (laughs), so I’ll set it as ‘.300 batting average, double-digit home runs.’”

Regarding defense, he says he aims to be a high-level utility player.

“I don’t have a specific position I want to play. If they tell me to play outfield, I’m ready to play outfield. I want to avoid being a jack-of-all-trades but master of none, like Taisei Makihara (33) of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks—someone who can play multiple positions and hit well, a valuable presence in the league.”

Oda reportedly didn’t go out much on his days off during university.

“I’m not an active type. I never did things that would affect baseball like spending a whole day walking around an amusement park.”

Nakanishi is the same when it comes to relaxing on non-practice days. He would spend time in his room watching movies or sleeping to recover his energy.

“Even when watching Western movies, I only watch dubbed versions. Subtitles tire my eyes too much. Our coach, Yasunori Ando (48) at Aoyama Gakuin, often says to us that off-days are preparation time for the next practice. For example, if you use muscles not used in baseball on a non-practice day and get sore, it will affect your baseball. That’s something you absolutely must avoid. I think Koichiro and I are both types who don’t cling to things outside of baseball.”

Since baseball is their profession, it may mean they should devote all their time to it. At Chunichi, where Nakanishi will join, there’s one-year-older Hiroto Takahashi (23), who will likely be a close rival.

“He’s a pretty powerful pitcher and has a lot of things I don’t. I want to talk to him and learn as much as I can.”

Nakanishi’s strong point is overall ability.

“I don’t have any standout pitches, but I want to appeal with my overall skill—my ability to find the best solution on the mound and adjust pitches according to the batter’s characteristics.”

The two, who aimed for and achieved being Japan’s top players as Aoyama Gakuin’s ace and main hitter, will now face each other on the stage of the Central League.

From the January 30/February 6, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY”