Koshien winner Masayoshi Ogara to manage Japanese U-18 National Team

World No. 1 Samurai Japan and the High School Baseball Federation of Japan announced that former Nippon University head coach Masayoshi Ogara will manage the U-18 Samurai Japan. It's his second stint as U-18 National Team manager after the XXV edition 2012 in Korea, where Japan finished sixth.

"The heavy responsibility humbles me," Ogura said. "I watched our U-18 National Team win the World Cup under Shiro Mabuchi last summer, and I aim to repeat the success. We will take the challenge of competing at the world level, remembering that we must show sportsmanship and respect for the opposing teams and the umpires."

Ogura's staff will include three High School managers: Naoki Arai (59, Maebashi Ikuei High School, Gunma Prefecture), Hideisa Sakahara (47, Shimonoseki International High School, Yamaguchi Prefecture) and Nkji Osumi (43, Hotoku Gakuen High School, Hyogo Prefecture)

Ogura was born in 1957. He was the second baseman and team captain at Nippon University, where he also coached under the late Mamoru Koeda. He managed the Kanto Daichi High School and led the team to the Spring 1987 Koshien semifinals. He managed Nippon University from 1997 to 2023, leading them to the 2001 and 2011 Koshien titles.

Ogura will manage the defending World Champions Japan to the U-18 Asian Championship, a qualifier for the XXXII WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup.