Highly touted Tokai University flamethrower Tomoyuki Sugano, who was selected in the first round of the baseball draft by the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, decided on Monday to not accept the Pacific League club's offer to join the team.
Earlier in the day, Tokai University manager Hitoki Yokoi reportedly told Nippon Ham that Sugano, 22, does not wish to join the club. He plans to train in the next year with the hope of being named in the draft by the Yomiuri Giants — the team managed by his uncle Tatsunori Hara.
"It was an honor to have a chance to hear from Nippon Ham. But my dream from when I was a child was stronger in the end. I might be taking a detour, but I want to shoot for my dream," Sugano said in a news conference at the Tokai University baseball dormitory in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. "I really thought it over and made this decision, so my mind is at ease."