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

Ritsumeikan University's left-handed pitcher Gaku Arima (4th year, Aichi Kogyo University Meiden High School), who has a maximum speed of 151 km/h, was selected in the second round by the Softbank Hawks.

When he was selected as a second-round pick alongside his teammate Nishino and heard the congratulatory shouts of "Congratulations, Gaku!", he couldn't help but burst into tears. "I feel a huge sense of relief," he said with a look of comfort on his face.

Using a sharp slider as his weapon, he recorded 10 consecutive struck out in the game against Tokyo University of Agriculture Hokkaido at last autumn's Meiji Jingu Tournament, setting a new tournament record. He broke the record of 8 consecutive strike out set by Takashi Yamaguchi of Kansai University in 1972 for the first time in 53 years, leading his team to a runner-up finish. In addition to his slider, 'Doctor K' possesses a wide variety of breaking ball, including curves, cutter, and change-up. Ritsumeikan University manager Katayama expressed high expectations, saying, 'I want him to join the first-team rotation as a pitcher.'

Gaku Arima. Born July 29, 2004, in Tawaramoto Town, Nara. 22 years old. Started playing baseball with the Hirano Pirates (rubber-ball) in his first year at Hirano Elementary School. Played for the rubber-ball baseball club at Tawaramoto Junior High School. At Aichi Kogyo University Meiden High School, he was on the bench starting from the summer of his first year. At Ritsumeikan University, he contributed to the league championship last autumn, the first since the spring of 2019. 175 cm, 80 kg. Left-handed pitcher and left-handed batter.