Joseph Yamamoto '25 Recruiting Profile

I am a two way playing half Japanese, half New Zealander. I was born in Hiroshima, Japan and since entering elementary school I have attended school in New Zealand for 2 months every year. I have dual citizenship and value the qualities and experiences I have been lucky to be born with. 

I want to be able to utilize all of my attributes, intelligence, athleticism, size, speed, agility and fine motor skill dexterity to become the best I can be.  

I have always loved playing sport. I began swimming, skiing and badminton when I started elementary school. I was the no.1 swimmer and badminton player in Kure City,  through age grade tournaments. I played representative rugby when I was 10 and I was the U12 runner up in Kure City's Championship Tennis Tournament.  I began snowboarding when I was 10 and usually get a dozen days of snowboarding in each winter. 

In 2017 I started playing baseball for a local club in Japan. Playing 3rd base and relief pitcher hitting 23 homeruns in my first season.

In 2018 I played in the NZ U13 National Championships. I was selected in the National Tournament Team.

In 2019 I played in the NZ U13 National Championships. I won the best batter of the tournament, won a sliver medal, and pitched a no hits, no runs, no walks shutout game in the semifinal.  

In 2019 I entered Takeda Junior & Senior High School. I joined the JHS baseball team there. 

In 2020 I was selected (at 13 years old the youngest member) to represent New Zealand in the WBSC Oceania Tournament. I relief pitched 4 and 2/3 innings in the final gaining invaluable experience and finding out why I wanted to be a Major Leaguer in the future. The challenge of playing with the worlds best players, becoming one of them and testing myself and my limits became clearer to me. 

In 2020 (at 13 years old) I pitched a 7 innings game in the NZ U19 National Championships winning a bronze medal with the Bayside Wolves Club.

In 2021 (at 14 years old) I pitched two games (including starting the final and pitching 4 & 2/3 innings) in the NZ U19 National Championships winning a silver medal. I was also the MVP at the NZ U15 National Training Camp. 

In 2022 and 2023 I was the starting 1st base and closer for Takeda High School Baseball Team in Hiroshima, Japan. 

In 2022 (at 15 years old) I was selected to represent New Zealand at the WBSC U18 Oceania Tournament. I was the starting pitcher and pitched 5 innings in the final vs Australia. 

In January 2024, I was chosen as a representative of the Tobitate Study Abroad Program Japan. I am now playing baseball and studying at P27 Baseball Academy in South Carolina. 

I was the 2024 PG High School Academies Showdown MVP PITCHER in Hoover AL.  

P27 Baseball Academy is one of the elite baseball academies in the country. I am proud to be selected as one of two juniors in the upper class team.  

In May 2024 (at 17 years - 10 months old) I was selected as a member of the NZ U23 NATIONAL TEAM 

My school, Takeda High School, is different to the usual Japanese baseball high school as it is a private school that doesn't have any athletic scholarships. Academic studies are important and baseball practices are short. Time and self management skills are essential for success, as is taking responsibility for your actions. 

I am fortunate to have technology, knowledge and great mentors available at my disposal. I am even luckier to have an amazing "whanau" family that encourage and support me all the time. My father is a New Zealander with a Bachelors degree in Physical Education and experience playing rugby league for the NZ Universities National Team. He is now the no.2 tennis player in Kure City. My father owns his own small English conversation school in our neighborhood. My mother is Japanese and she is a high level snowboarder and competitive badminton player. My younger sister is a tennis player with dreams of becoming another Naomi Osaka-like champion.