Seibu Lions 's first-round draft pick, catcher Taiga Kojima (22) from Meiji University, expressed his desire to join the Japanese national team for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in the future on the 9th.

As part of the new recruit training session, he visited baseball Hall of Fame Museum. "It's even bigger and more impressive than it looks on TV," he said, noting that he was drawn to the championship trophy that Samurai Japan won when they became world champions in 2011. He was a member of the Japanese university national team while at Meiji University. "Of course, I want to become a player who can represent Japan, and I want to work hard to become a player who can compete on the world stage," he said, showing his determination to one day achieve this.