Legendary High School coach Ryusei Okada to manage Japan at WBSC Asia U-18 Baseball World Cup Qualifier

Ryusei Okada will manage World No. 1 Japan at the XIV BFA Asia Cup, the qualifying event for the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2027, which will take place in Taipei City (TPE) in September.

Born in 1961 in Osaka, Okada played baseball at Toyo University Himeji, a high school affiliated with Toyo University. He played college baseball for the Nippon Sport Science University and Saginomiya Seisakusho in the Industrial Leagues.

As head coach of Riseisha High School from 1987 to 2022, he led the programme to 11 Summer Koshien tournaments including a title-winning campaign in 2019. Among the players who developed under him, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows superstar Tetsuto Yamada, a Tokyo 2020 gold medallist and a WBSC Premier12 and World Baseball Classic winner, is the most notable.

Okada, who has been the Toyo University Himeji head coach since 2022, will run a first selection camp from April 3 to 5.

"We selected the players from a wide range of candidates in collaboration with the Technical and Development Committee of the Japan High School Baseball Federation," he said in an interview with the Samurai Japan official website. "We would like to express our sincere gratitude once again to the schools that are sending players and to the prefectural high school baseball federations that cooperated in the recommendation process."

Okada added: "This camp aims to make the players aware of the speed-oriented baseball that the U-18 Japan National Team aims for, in all aspects of the game: running, hitting, and fielding. We hope that the three days will be productive. At the same time, we hope that the players will inspire each other and use this as an opportunity for further growth. We hope that all participants will actively communicate with each other and make good preparations for the Asian Games."

Okada's coaching staff includes Niino Hiroharu (Japan High School Baseball Federation), Atsushi Hirakawa (Hokkaido High School head coach) and Junpei Kawasaki (Meiho High School head coach).