2026 Senbatsu] Osaka Toin’s new sophomore duo, Takatoku’s ace left fielder… “Future Samurai Warriors” expected to make their breakthrough

March 19 marks the opening day of the 98th Senbatsu, a tournament that heralds the arrival of spring ball. Shoki Oda of Yokohama (Kanagawa Prefecture), winner of last year’s tournament, and Ryosuke Sueyoshi, left arm of last summer’s champion Okinawa Shogaku, will return to the sacred ground again this spring as third-year students, having made a name for themselves in their junior year. However, there is one gem of a player who could take the lead from both of them and become a top draft candidate in the future.

Part 1] [Special Report on the 2026 Senbatsu Tournament] Some are calling him “the next Otani! The “Future of Samurai Japan” heating up the Koshien Stadium

The Agony of the Second Generation

Osaka Toin, the evergreen team that missed the spring and summer Koshien tournaments last year, has some new second-year players who are expected to make their breakthrough.

First is Haruto Kawamoto, a 192 cm tall left-handed pitcher. Although his ace number is carried by his senior Yoshioka Kansuke, whose straight ball has an outstanding velocity, Kawamoto was the mainstay of the team in last fall’s Kinki Tournament, where a ticket to the Sembatsu tournament was on the line, and brought the team victory. Manager Koichi Nishitani, who has a record 70 wins in Koshien (the most ever at Koshien), has used Kawamoto with high expectations for his special characteristics, even if he does not see any difficulty in his control of the ball.

He said, “My weapon is a straight ball with an angle. Only a pitcher of his stature can do that, so I want to make the most of my characteristics and throw more and more aggressively.

In the field, there is Yuto Nakamura. He is the eldest son of Takeya Nakamura, a.k.a. Okawari-kun, who has been active with Saitama Seibu. Until last fall, he was a reserve third baseman, but in a practice game leading up to the Sembatsu Tournament, he started and hit a sharp shot through the outfield for the winning run. Not only his face, but also his batting style is reminiscent of his father.

I’ve always taken my father’s batting as a model because he was close to me,” he said.

In last fall’s Kinki Tournament, Nakamura once started playing defense in the middle of a game. Although he did not bat, after the game he was named as a player to be interviewed by the press. Nakamura shed tears in secret because he felt bad about being interviewed in place of his seniors, even though he had not played an active role. On that day, however, he showed a glimpse of confidence.

When I get good results, people say, ‘That’s Okawari’s son,’ but when I don’t hit, people look at me and say, ‘He’s my son, but he’s …….’ At first, I was worried about that. At first I was worried about that, but now, on the contrary, if I can’t hit, I just give it my all without thinking about it, and I don’t need to worry about how the world views me.

Last summer, Riku Tokumaru, the ace left fielder of Hiroshima’s Taketoku team, came within one out of his first Koshien appearance in 49 years, but was caught up by Hiroyo and lost the game 1 to 2 in a tiebreaker. If the Taketoku Nine had stood on the sacred ground, the mass assault by Hiroryo might not have caused such a huge stir. Tokumaru recalls.

Tokumaru recalls, “We lost the tournament with two outs in the ninth inning, which was a disappointing result for us as individuals and as a team. In the fall, I went into the tournament with the mindset of ‘winning the top spot from the very beginning,’ and once I took the mound, I knew in my heart that I would never let anyone else win.

In addition to his 141 km/h straight ball, he throws a slider, a fork, and a cutter. Although his velocity and authority are not as high as they should be in today’s high school baseball game, Tokumaru’s control more than makes up for it.

He says, “I have been able to control the ball since I began to place importance on throwing the ball in and out of the batter’s box, regardless of left or right, and I think it is my lifeline.

Although they are the Chugoku champions, Gotoku are not the Hiroshima champions. Tokumaru’s baseball career will open up only when he beats his rivals in the summer.

I have longed to go to Koshien since I was a little girl,” he said. I am excited about it now. But it is only a passing point. I want to play well and get one step closer to the professional world.

I am sure that future Samurai warriors will be born among these players.

Part 1】【Senbatsu 2026】Some are calling him “the next Otani! The “Future Samurai Japan” heating up Koshien

From the March 27/April 3, 2026 issue of FRIDAY