Genei Sato, potential first-round pick in NPB draft, enrolls at Penn State: What that means for his MLB future

Genei Sato, a talented right-handed pitcher, is transferring from Sendai University in Shibata, Japan, to Penn State University, the program announced on Monday. Sato is expected to join the Nittany Lions for the fall 2026 semester. He'll then be eligible for Major League Baseball's amateur draft in 2027.

It's an unusual move for Sato, who was projected to be a first-round selection in the upcoming Nippon Professional Baseball draft. Yet it speaks to his desire to forge a career in MLB without having to navigate the posting system -- the transfer agreement between MLB and NPB that necessitates players spend a certain amount of time in NPB if they don't want their earning potential suppressed. 

"When Genei's camp reached out to explore a move to college baseball, our staff used their connections to gather reports and video and it became clear to us that this is a premium arm," Penn State head coach Mike Gambino said in a statement. "He's in the conversation among best arms in Japan and was considered a top draft prospect in the Nippon league and has the potential to be a top round pick here."

Sato, listed at 5-foot-11, is indeed an intriguing talent. During his time at Sendai University, he compiled a 2.22 ERA and nearly 11 strikeouts for every nine innings. He's touched into triple digits before and his arsenal also includes a standout splitter. He had a strong showing over the summer against the USA Collegiate National Team, punching out six batters in 4 ⅓ innings.

"He's real," UCLA shortstop and potential No. 1 pick Roch Cholowsky told Baseball America of Sato. "(He) was like 97-99 throwing a splitter at like 92. A lot of ride on the fastball. Throws his splitter hard but has depth on it, too."

Sato is not the first Japanese amateur to forgo NPB in favor of their MLB dreams. Stanford first baseman Rintaro Sasaki made a similar decision in October 2023. Others in recent years, like White Sox infield prospect Rikuu Nishida and Georgia two-way player Kenny Ishikawa, have done the same.