Yokohama High School ace Shoki Oda announced Thursday that he plans to play in the United States after graduation, passing up the opportunity to become one of the top picks in the 2026 Nippon Professional Baseball Draft on October 22.

The 18-year-old right-hander revealed he is considering both signing a minor league contract as an international amateur free agent and attending an American university to play NCAA baseball. He announced his decision at a press conference at his school after meeting with all 12 NPB clubs.

Oda said moving overseas now would give him time to learn English and become comfortable communicating with teammates and coaches before potentially reaching the Majors. Representing Samurai Japan at September’s U-18 Asian Baseball Championship also strengthened his desire to compete internationally.

“I want to eventually become the best pitcher in the world,” Oda said.

Turning Down Japan

Originally from Kitakyushu in Fukuoka, Oda became one of the nation's most highly touted amateurs at Yokohama. He helped the school win the 2025 spring Koshien tournament and reached 98 mph during this summer’s regional tournament.

His prospect pedigree grew further when he helped Yokohama reach the Summer Koshien semifinals, flashing some of the tournament’s best stuff. In September, he pitched six innings of one-run ball against Chinese Taipei in the Super Round of the U-18 Asian Championship.

Oda submitted his eligibility papers for the NPB Draft last month and was expected to draw interest from multiple clubs in the first round. He visited the United States in early October, then heard pitches from all 12 Japanese teams during four days of meetings this past week.

He ultimately elected to head overseas, though where he will play remains a question that will be answered in the coming months.

A Growing Trend

Oda’s decision comes three months after Stanford University slugger Rintaro Sasaki chose to sign with the Miami Marlins rather than the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Sasaki bypassed the NPB Draft out of Hanamaki Higashi High School in 2023 to attend Stanford in what was a shocking move at the time. SoftBank later acquired his NPB negotiation rights in the 2025 draft, but he maintained his intention to pursue MLB and signed with Miami after being selected in the eighth round this July. While Sasaki remains the most high-profile example, a growing number of Japanese prospects are now taking a similar path.

Two-way player Shotaro Morii, projected as a first round pick, signed with the Athletics out of Toho High School in January 2025 after opting out of the NPB Draft.

Japanese-American Bryan Balzer joined the San Diego Padres from Joso Gakuin High School for a $10,000 signing bonus in 2023 after an elbow injury limited his exposure and he went undrafted in Japan. The right-hander is now the No. 6 ranked prospect in the organization on MLB Pipeline.

Others have pursued MLB through the NCAA. Itsuki Takemoto went from Chiben Wakayama High School to the University of Hawaii before the Athletics selected him in the 19th round of the 2025 MLB Draft.

Kenny Ishikawa attended Asia University before transferring to Seattle University and then to Georgia. Like Sasaki, he chose an MLB organization over the NPB club that drafted him, signing with the Cincinnati Reds this summer after Orix acquired his negotiation rights in 2025.

Sendai University right-hander Genei Sato also transferred to Penn State last year, while Shogo Miyauchi enrolled at Arkansas after graduating from Chukyo University Chukyo High School this year.

Sato and Oda had been regarded as two of the top three prospects in this year’s NPB Draft class. With both heading stateside, two-way standout Haruki Komoda is now the clear-cut No. 1 prospect.

Could an NPB Club Still Draft Oda?

Oda’s announcement does not necessarily remove him from consideration on October 22. Having submitted his draft declaration, he remains eligible for selection by an NPB club.

Of course, there is precedent for a team trying to change a player’s mind. The Hokkaido Nipponham Fighters famously drafted Shohei Ohtani in 2012 despite his stated intention to sign directly with an MLB organization, then persuaded him to join.

SoftBank took a similar chance on Sasaki last year but was unable to sign him. NPB offers no compensation picks for unsigned selections, so the Hawks forfeited their first round pick.

When asked about Oda’s announcement, SoftBank general manager Sugihiko Mikasa expressed support for his decision but declined to say whether the Hawks would rule out drafting him. He also said the growing number of young players targeting MLB directly was something the entire Japanese baseball industry needed to address.

One deterrent to players starting their careers overseas went away in 2020, when NPB abolished the Tazawa Rule. The former agreement imposed a waiting period after leaving an overseas club before Japanese amateurs who bypassed NPB could become eligible for the Japanese draft (three years for high school players and two for college and industrial league players).

For Oda, the next step is choosing between college baseball and signing a minor league deal with an MLB organization. For NPB clubs, next week’s draft will reveal whether any team is willing to use their top pick to try to keep him in Japan.