Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles have announced the selection of 16 registered members for Rakuten Eagles Junior team, which will participate in the "NPB Junior Tournament KONAMI CUP 2026." The 16 players, selected through a selection process, will not only hone their skills with the goal of winning the tournament, but will also strive to become role models for young baseball players in Tohoku, not only in their attitude towards baseball, but also in their personal lives, embodying qualities such as enthusiasm, manners, and teamwork.

The 16 players selected for Rakuten Eagles Junior 2026 team are as follows:

<Name, Kana, Region, Team Name>

Harunosuke Inoue, Aomori Nakago Baseball Club
Ryugi Yokosawa, Itayanagi Wild The Eagles, Aomori
Shuyu Kannari, Goshogawara, Aomori, BBC
Asahi Saito, Aomori Hirosaki Red Devils
Akito Tsushima, Aomori, Hirosaki South BBC
Rikuto Asamizu (Aomori, Aomori Strongs)
Yuma Kato (Akita, Sennan Triple Stars)
Minato Nakayashiki, Iwate Prefecture, Hirono Baseball Club
Haku Araki, Yamagata/Sakegawa Baseball Club
Toranosuke Igarashi (Yamagata, Oizumi The Hawks)
Haruto Shijo, Fukushima - Matsuzaki Garden Junior Sports Club
Asahi Dosho, Miyagi Prefecture, Nagamachi Elementary School Boys' baseball Club
Kai Nitta (Miyagi Prefecture, Nitta Elementary School Twins)
Eito Saito (Saito Eito), Miyagi Prefecture, Ryu Boys baseball Club
Lee Shunta (Miyagi, Sendai Kuromatsu)
Masato Aihara (Miyagi, Natori Condors)

Team Staff
Representative: Shoji Ohira (Former Rakuten Eagles infielder / Current Rakuten Eagles team staff member)
Manager: Kanji Teraoka (Former Rakuten Eagles pitcher / Current Rakuten Eagles Academy coach)
Coach: Tatsuro Iwasaki (Former Rakuten Eagles infielder / Current Rakuten Eagles Academy coach)
Coach: Shinriku Komine (Former Rakuten Eagles pitcher / Current Rakuten Eagles Academy coach)

The "NPB Junior Tournament KONAMI CUP 2026" is organized by the Nippon Professional baseball Organization and the 12 NPB teams, and was established in 2005 with the aim of making the dream of becoming a professional baseball more accessible to children. This year, the 22nd edition of the tournament will be held from December 26th (Saturday) to 29th (Tuesday) at Meiji Jingu Stadium and Giants Town Stadium.

Aiming for their third championship title since 2018, the Rakuten Eagles Junior team is working together as a unit to prepare for the big tournament at the end of the year.

Text by Sari Ikeda