Following a historically good inaugural season, St. Louis CITY SC is regrouping for year two. They won the Western Conference regular season in their first year in MLS, shocking the league. In their second MLS season, they will look to keep the momentum and advance further in the postseason. As a part of the preparation for 2024, St. Louis turned their attention towards the SuperDraft. In order to move up into the first round, they traded their second round pick and $75K GAM to Nashville SC in exchange for the No. 17 pick.
With the No. 17 selection, St. Louis City chose Hosei Kijima out of Wake Forest. It is nearly impossible to classify him under one single position. Kijima played minutes in the central midfield, wingback and winger. He served as the team's captain during his senior year, starting in 18 games. The Demon Deacons went 14-0-1 when Kijima contributed to a goal. Over the course of his four years in Winston-Salem, he scored 9 goals and assisted 10. When it comes to Kijima, the most consistent talking point is his ability to play quite literally anywhere. It likely would not surprise anyone if he hopped in goal and excelled there too. He himself does not favor any position over another.
"I don’t have a favorite position because I love the game, I just want to be on the field with the ball and playing among my teammates enjoying the game towards fullest extent," Kijima said.
Hosei Kijima is an incredible player, and his story is a huge reason why. He comes from Yokohama, Japan, where life was far from easy for him. He left his parents behind and embarked on a journey to Florida, to play soccer at the famed IMG Academy. It was a rough time in his life.
"Leaving home at the age of 12 I was a crazy boy who didn’t take school or the game seriously," Kijima said. "I skipped school and my first year I had 27 detentions written up, which I obviously had to attend. The coaches would come looking for me because I wouldn’t be at training in the morning. I overall misbehaved a lot my first year or two."
Kijima also mentioned that school and soccer were not the only areas in which he was struggling. As one could imagine, packing up moving to a completely new place can cause a bit of a culture shock. In the end, he was better for it.
"Another difficult thing was that the culture was so different to what I grew up in," Kijima said. "I struggled to accept ideas and concepts within the United States. I was even surprised that people were eating with forks instead of chopsticks. I also encountered a lot of racism and some bullying, which strengthen my mental ability to go through adversity."
The maturation process that Kijima went through is truly inspiring. His life was uprooted, placing him in some brutal positions. Through it all, he pushed on and kept working hard. A massive student of the game and a tactical mind, Kijima is a great get for St. Louis. Hosei Kijima's life has been an extensive display of mental toughness, but his story is just now beginning.