2026 Professional baseball Draft Conference supported by Lipovitan D (22nd)

The Softbank Hawks selected Taisei Suzuki from Aoyama Gakuin University as their first-round pick, and after a two-team competition with Lotte, CBO Kenji Jojima drew the winning lot to secure the negotiation rights. He commented with joy, "I definitely want him to contribute to our four consecutive championships. I'll be there in 15 minutes!"

Last year, The Hawks made a surprise selection of infielder Rintaro Sasaki from Stanford University. They competed with DeNA, but CBO Jojima won the lottery. Although he ultimately did not join the team, it was a draft that showcased their great luck.

Last year, CBO Jojima expressed his enthusiasm in anticipation of the lottery, saying, 'The time has come to demonstrate the power I was born with as the son of a mahjong parlor owner,' and successfully drew the winning ticket. After the draw, he looked back and remarked, 'As the son of a mahjong parlor owner, I have drawn many mahjong tiles in my life. Today, a truly great win was left for me at the very end.'