Kotlářka Praha of the Czech Extraliga has signed former Nippon Professional Baseball outfielder Koki Ugusa, the club announced. The Prague-based team finished seventh in the eight-team league last season with a 13-22 record and is led by star catcher Martin Červenka.
Ugusa built a strong body of work as an amateur prospect, including representing Japan at the 2015 U-18 World Cup. A second-round pick in the 2019 NPB Draft, he debuted with the Hiroshima Carp in 2020 and initially showed promise, batting .291/.331/.432 with 4 home runs and 6 steals across 158 plate appearances in 2021.
However, he struggled to secure consistent opportunities at the top level in subsequent seasons, and his minor league numbers also stagnated. He managed a .715 OPS at the NPB level as recently as 2024, but it came in a limited sample of just 75 plate appearances. In 2025, he batted a meager .243/.313/.320 across 50 farm games while splitting time between left and right field.
Ugusa joins veterans Takashi Ogino and Ayumu Ishikawa as part of a growing wave of Japanese players moving to Europe. Ogino signed with fellow Czech club Draci Brno last month, while Ishikawa joined the Oosterhout Twins of the Dutch Honkbal Hoofdklasse earlier in the offseason.
Former Major League pitcher Toru Murata has also been pitching in the Czech Republic since 2023. Entering his age-29 season, Ugusa looks to reignite his career with a change of scenery.
