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

Akito Haruyama (21), an outfielder from Osaka University of Commerce who was selected in the third round by the Orix Buffaloes, immediately envisioned the sound of his bat echoing at his new home stadium. Although he is a native of the Kansai region from Yamatotakada City, Nara, he said with a smile, "I have never set foot in Kyocera Dome, so I am really looking forward to it. I want to produce results with my hitting." As for his role model, he named Yuma Tongu of the Orix Buffaloes, the 2023 batting champion who contributed to the league title, saying, "He is a right-handed hitter and similar in type to me. I have always used his swing as a reference."

A long-distance hitter who this autumn broke the Kansai Big Six Baseball League career Home Run record (12) for the first time in 34 years, a record established between 1989 and 1992 by Takahiro Saeki, a senior from Osaka University of Commerce and formerly of Yokohama and Chunichi. He expressed his feelings for his mother, Mami (45), who raised four siblings—his older brother, older sister, younger brother, and himself—as a single parent, saying, "I want to thank my mother." He added, "I want to become a player where people say, Let's go to the stadium because I want to see Haruyama." He intends to captivate the professional world with his full swing as well. (Ryuichi Tamura)