夏之甲子园2026：108th Summer Koshien Schedule, 49 Teams & Title Race

Japan’s 108th National High School Baseball Championship — known worldwide as Summer Koshien — opened on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo. Organized by the Japan High School Baseball Federation and Asahi Shimbun, 49 regional champions will play through Saturday, August 22, for the crimson championship flag.

This edition debuts the designated hitter rule and video review at Summer Koshien for the first time. And in Round 1, favorite Yokohama meets defending champion Okinawa Shogaku — a matchup many Japanese outlets call a “de facto final.”

Tournament snapshot

Item	Detail
Dates	Aug 5–22, 2026 (18 days incl. rest days; rain may delay)
Venue	Hanshin Koshien Stadium, Nishinomiya, Hyogo
Teams	49 (two from Hokkaido and Tokyo; one per other prefecture)
Defending champ	Okinawa Shogaku (Okinawa)
Bracket	Online draw Aug 1 through Round 3; captain’s draw from quarterfinals
Player oath	Hachioji Jissen (West Tokyo)

Schedule calendar

Round	Dates	Notes
Opening ceremony + Game 1	Aug 5 (Wed)	Ceremony 4:00 p.m.; first game 5:30 p.m. — Sapporo Nichidai vs. Sendai Ikuei
Round 1	Aug 5–10	49 → ~25 teams; Aug 10: Yokohama vs. Okinawa Shogaku ★
Round 2	Aug 10–14	~25 → ~13
Round 3	Aug 15–16 (Sat–Sun)	~13 → ~7
Rest day	Aug 17 (Mon)	After Round 3 Day 2
Quarterfinals	Aug 18 (Tue)	Final four
Rest day	Aug 19 (Wed)
Semifinals	Aug 20 (Thu)
Rest day	Aug 21 (Fri)
Final	Aug 22 (Sat) 10:00 a.m.	Champion crowned

Day 1 features only the ceremony and one game. Spectator rotation applies Days 3–8 to reduce player strain.

All 49 schools

Finalized July 28. First-timers (4): Higashi Nihon Kokusai Toho (Fukushima), Hachioji Jissen (West Tokyo), Fushun (Hiroshima), Ariake (Kumamoto).

Notable attendance marks:

• Most appearances: Matsusho Gakuen (Nagano) — 39th time, 2nd straight year
• Longest gap: Yokote (Akita) — 57 years since last visit
• 4 straight summers: Hanamaki Higashi (Iwate), Kamimura Gakuen (Kagoshima)
• Defending champion: Okinawa Shogaku — 12th appearance, 2nd straight

Full list by region matches official JHBF / Hanshin Koshien data (Hokkaido through Okinawa, 49 schools).

Team strength tiers

Based on Mainichi Shimbun, Diamond Online, SPOBASE, Baseball Post, and pre-tournament previews:

Tier S — title favorites

Yokohama (Kanagawa) — consensus No. 1

• Spring Koshien champion; 4th straight summer appearance
• Ace RHP Shoki Oda (3rd year) touched 157 km/h (~98 mph) this summer; heavy MLB/NPB scout interest
• Deep staff including LHP Tetsuzaburo Kobayashi (2nd year) and SS Seima Ikeda; dominated tough Kanagawa prefectural bracket

Okinawa Shogaku (Okinawa) — defending champ, repeat bid

• 2025 Summer Koshien champion targeting a repeat
• LHP ace Ryosuke Sueyoshi (3rd year) returned from elbow soreness post-spring; 6 scoreless in Okinawa semifinal
• Veteran pitching, defense, and big-stage experience

Tier A — legitimate contenders

School	Why they matter
Kanto Daiichi (East Tokyo)	3rd straight; 4-hole Eita Iguchi; LHP Shou Ishii & RHP Yusaku Takahashi; strong game management
Kamimura Gakuen (Kagoshima)	4th straight, 9th in 4 years; consistent national runs
Risho (Osaka)	Osaka champ with explosive offense (66 runs in one reported rout)
Chiben Wakayama (Wakayama)	3rd straight; powerful hitting, Kinki powerhouse
Kanto Gakuin Takasaki (Gunma)	3rd straight; balanced
Sendai Ikuei (Miyagi)	Last team in (“大トリ”); 32nd appearance
Hanasaki Tokuei (Saitama)	Spring Koshien top 8; ace Ryota Kurokawa can go the distance
Hanamaki Higashi (Iwate)	4th straight; stars Kenshin Mangoku, Shiya Akama, captain Daito Kojo

Tier B — dark horses

• Koei (Aichi) — back after 31 years
• Seirei Christopher (Shizuoka) — 2nd straight appearance, rising
• Yokote (Akita) — 57-year comeback story
• Fushun (Hiroshima) — first-ever Koshien after first prefectural title and first top-4 finish
• Ariake (Kumamoto) — debut

Marquee Round 1 game

Aug 10, 8:00 a.m.: Yokohama vs. Okinawa Shogaku

Winner advances; loser goes home in Round 1. The draw turned the entire championship picture upside down before the tournament truly began.

New rules in 2026

1. Designated hitter (DH) — first time at Summer Koshien
2. Video review — managers may challenge select calls

For visitors

• Stadium: Nishinomiya, Hyogo (near Osaka, not inside Osaka city)
• Station: Hanshin Railway Koshien (~3-min walk)
• Tickets: all reserved; roughly ¥300–¥4,800 for adults
• Schedule subject to rain delays

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Your prediction

Only one school leaves with the flag. Yokohama’s velocity, Okinawa Shogaku’s pedigree, Kanto Daiichi’s craft, Risho’s bats — who wins it all?

Pick your 2026 champion:

1. Yokohama — survives the mega Round 1 game and rolls
2. Okinawa Shogaku — repeat behind Sueyoshi and experience
3. Kanto Daiichi / Kamimura / Risho / Chiben Wakayama — cleaner bracket path
4. Dark horse — name a school and why

Share your pick in the comments. At Koshien, summer upsets are tradition.

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For live brackets and results, see JHBF and Hanshin Koshien.