Shun Okamoto
Japanese baseball player (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shun Okamoto (岡本 駿, Okamoto Shun; extra) born June 12, 2002 in Katsuura, Katsuura District, Tokushima, Japan[1] is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
| Shun Okamoto | |
|---|---|
| |
| Hiroshima Toyo Carp – No. 53 | |
| pitcher | |
| Born: June 12, 2002 Katsuura, Tokushima, Japan | |
Bats: Left Throws: Right | |
| NPB debut | |
| March 28, 2025, for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp | |
| NPB statistics (through 2025 season) | |
| Win–loss record | 1–1 |
| Earned run average | 2.88 |
| Strikeouts | 37 |
| Saves | 0 |
| Holds | 1 |
| Teams | |
| |
Career
Amateur
Okamoto started playing baseball for the Katsuura Tigers Sports Boys' Team when he was in second grade at Yokose Elementary School. [2][3] He was a member of the Japanese-style baseball Club when he was a student at Katsuura Junior High School.[2][3] At Jonan High School, he became a bench member from the fall of his first year.[4][5] He was primarily a shortstop infielder in high school, but also pitched.[6][7]
Okamoto then enrolled in the Faculty of business at Konan University.[7] He decided to focus on pitching in college.[6] In the fall of his freshman year, he became the winning pitcher in a league game for the first time,[6] and also recording a shutout against Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences.[8] He recorded a shutout in the opening game of the 2024 spring league against Kansai Gaidai University,[9] but only pitched in two games that spring.[10] He returned to the team before the fall league.[4] He pitched a total of 186 innings in his collegiate career. He was 14-12 with 143 strikeouts.[8]
Okamoto drafted in the 3rd round of the 2024 Nippon Professional Baseball draft, selected by the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.[1] He signed a tentative contract with the team on November 14th.[11][12] He became the first professional baseball player to graduate from Konan University.[11]
Professional
In 2025, Okamoto pitched in a practice game against the Chiba Lotte Marines, and struck out three consecutive batters.[13][14] He made his professional debut in the opening game against the Hanshin Tigers on March 28th.[15] On April 20th, Okamoto's pitch hit by Seishirō Sakamoto's head, resulting in an ejection for dangerous pitch.[16] On May 13th, he recorded his first professional winning pitcher against the Yomiuri Giants.[17]
Player profile
Okamoto is a right right-handed pitcher. He throws a four-seam fastball topping out at 151 km/h,[18] a slider, a cut fastball, a changeup, a two-seam fastball,[8] and a forkball[2]. In 2025, Takahiro Arai said about his two-seam fastball: "His two-seam fastball is hard to distinguish from a split-finger fastball."[19]
Regarding his batting, Okamoto said, "I'm good at hitting to the opposite field and center field."[12]
Personal life
For his university graduation thesis, he wrote about the Carp's business history.[20]
