4th-year Student Yuma Masaki Receives Greeting from the Saitama Seibu Lions Following Developmental Draft Selection
On October 30, Yuma Masaki, a senior pitcher from the Department of Management, received a greeting from the Saitama Seibu Lions following his selection as the team’s 6th pick in the developmental draft.
Kosaku Akimoto, Deputy General Manager of the Lions, and Jun Takeshita, Scout, visited the Yotsuya Campus, where they met with Professor Masahiro Fujita (Department of Materials and Life Sciences), Head of the Baseball Club, and Manager Yutaka Yoshida.
Masaki said that meeting the team representatives made him feel that his professional career is truly about to begin. He expressed his aspiration to keep improving and to show his gratitude through his performance.
As the first player from the University to be drafted by a professional baseball team, he also hopes that his journey will inspire younger players to follow their dreams.
Akimoto expressed high expectations for Masaki’s future, noting that he was impressed by how much Masaki has developed through self-study and by his proactive attitude toward learning. He added that the team looks forward to seeing how far Masaki can grow in a professional environment.
Masaki is a right-handed pitcher known for his fastball, which reaches a top speed of 153 km/h. He is the first player in the 110-year history of the Baseball Club—and the first from the University—to be drafted by a professional baseball team.
Having spent his high school years in the United States, Masaki continued to refine his pitching skills independently after entering the University, utilizing videos and social media in the absence of a specialized pitching coach. His steady progress—from throwing 140 km/h as a first-year student to 153 km/h—culminated in his developmental draft selection by the Saitama Seibu Lions at the professional baseball draft held on October 23.