sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Kota Sakurai (Japanese: 櫻井 功大; born May 26, 1999) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays for Toronto FC II in MLS Next Pro.

Kota Sakurai

Personal information
Full name	Kota Sakurai
Date of birth	(1999-05-26) May 26, 1999 (age 23)
Place of birth	Yokohama, Japan
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
2015–2017	Toronto FC
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2019	Dartmouth Big Green	47	(2)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2018	Toronto FC III	40	(3)
2016	Toronto FC II	2	(0)
2022–	Toronto FC II	7	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of August 7, 2022

College career

Sakurai enrolled at Dartmouth College in 2017.[1] In his freshman year, he won the Ivy League Title with the team.[2] He scored his first goal on October 13, 2018 against the Penn Quakers.[3] In 2020, the season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so Sakurai trained with a team in his native Japan four times per week.[4] During his time with the Big Green from 2017 to 2019, he scored two goals and added six assists in 47 appearances.[5]

Club career

He joined the Toronto FC Academy in October 2015.[5] He regularly featured for Toronto FC III during their League1 Ontario[6][7][8] and Premier Development League[9] campaigns from 2016 to 2018. He scored his first goal on May 15, 2016 against Windsor TFC.[10] He was named the League1 Ontario Young Player of the Year in 2016,[11] as well as a league Second Team All-Star.[12]

With a number of Toronto FC II players unavailable for upcoming fixtures, Sakurai was called up to the squad in June 2016.[13] He made his professional debut on July 2, 2016, appearing for 14 minutes in a 3-0 defeat to Wilmington Hammerheads in the USL.[13] In doing so, he became the first ever Japanese player to feature competitively Toronto FC II.[14]

In 2022, he signed a professional contract with Toronto FC II in MLS Next Pro.[5]

References

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