Ryuhei Sotani

There's something I find quietly charming about a kid from Ikaruga in Nara packing up and heading all the way to Akita to chase baseball at Meiou High, then becoming the ace at Hakuoh University and a first-round pick. Born in 2000, a lefty pitcher who eventually punched his way into the pro ranks, Sotani feels like one of those guys still mid-climb, all raw potential and stubborn upside rather than a finished highlight reel. I'm a sucker for that arc, honestly: a long way from home, no glossy stage name, just his own. He's not a household legend yet, and that's exactly why I'm rooting for him, grinning a little, waiting to watch his fastball start really moving.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Ryuhei Sotani is a Japanese professional baseball player born on November 30, 2000, in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture. He attended North Asia University Meioh High School in Akita, where he developed his baseball career before advancing to the professional level. He then pitched for Hakuoh University, was the Orix Buffaloes' first-round pick in the 2022 draft, and made his professional debut in 2023.

Name (English)

Ryuhei Sotani

Name (Japanese)

曽谷龍平

Reading

そたに りゅうへい

Born

November 30, 2000 (age 25)

Origin

Ikaruga, Nara, Japan

Occupation

Professional baseball player

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Sagittarius / Dragon

High school

North Asia University Meioh High School

• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/ryuhei_sotani_/
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9B%BD%E8%B0%B7%E9%BE%8D%E5%B9%B3
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q115529592

Tags

• From Nara Prefecture
• Professional baseball player

Last updated

October 18, 2026

Only publicly available facts are listed; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Base data was compiled from Wikidata from June 2026 onward; ages are recalculated daily and deaths are checked against Wikidata on an ongoing basis. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.