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

The Softbank Hawks selected Japanese right-hander Kazuki Fukami from National Taiwan University of Sport as a 'hidden gem' in the 8th round, and then made a bold move in the 9th round by selecting Genei Sato from Pennsylvania State University, a right-hander with a maximum speed of 159 km/h and a strong desire to play in the Major Leagues. Fukami, originally from Osaka, moved to Taiwan with his family and graduated from a Taiwanese high school. Sato was selected for the Japanese national team for the USA-Japan Collegiate Championship last summer during his third year at Sendai University, and had transferred to Pennsylvania State University this summer.

Additionally, in the third round of the developmental draft, they selected right-hander Koki Sugimoto, who belongs to the KT Wiz of the Korean professional baseball league. Sugimoto is a graduate of Nihon University and entered the Korean baseball world from the independent league team Tokushima. The tenth developmental pick, Futa Nering, is an 18-year-old playing in the United States. He moved from Yale Secondary School to Fresno City College and is a second baseman known for his powerful hitting.

Last season, they made a surprise first-round pick of Rintaro Sasaki from Stanford University (now with the Marlins), who had a strong desire to play in the Major Leagues. After winning the negotiation rights following a competition with DeNA, the signing was ultimately not realized.

In this draft, a total of 24 players were selected, the highest number in history, consisting of 9 regular draft picks and 15 developmental picks.