On Monday, December 22, Japanese right-hander Genei Sato announced his commitment to play college baseball for the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Welcome to Happy Valley, Genei Sato!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/BlGNx3Yykg
— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) December 22, 2025
Sato is a talented pitching prospect who was playing collegiate baseball in Japan for Sendai University in Shibata.
While pitching for Sendai, he had a 2.22 ERA and a strikeout rate per nine innings of 10.7 in 107 total innings of work.
He is set to join Penn State for the 2027 college baseball season and is eligible for the 2027 MLB Draft.
Sato and His Time with the Samurai Japan Collegiate Team
This summer, Sato was a part of Samurai Japan’s Collegiate Team. They faced off against the United States’ Collegiate National Team in a five-game series in Japan.
He appeared on the mound in three of the games. During those appearances, he pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing just three hits and one earned run. Sato also had six strikeouts during that stretch.
Penn State Head Coach Mike Gambino’s Thoughts on Sato
Penn State head coach Mike Gambino talked about his thoughts on Sato with the Centre Daily Times.
“As a starter, you’re talking about 92 to 97 (mph fastball) with two [quality] off-speed pitches to go with it,” Gambino stated. “And he’s fairly raw, which I think is really exciting.”
The Penn State head coach added, “You’re talking about one of the top arms in Japan. The fact that we have shown enough to attract a talent like this, both in our short time here, and what we have done in our other places, that a guy who can go wherever he wants chose Penn State — I think it also says a lot about the university, too.”
Penn State in the 2026 MLB Desert Invitational
In the meantime, the Penn State Nittany Lions will begin the 2026 season playing in the MLB Desert Invitational from February 13-15.
On February 13, they will play the Air Force Falcons. Then, on February 14, they will play the Grand Canyon Antelopes. Their final game in the MLB Desert Invitational will be on February 15 against the Kansas State Wildcats.
All three of those games will be played in Scottsdale, Ariz.
NCAA News: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
