Louis Okoye
Louis Okoye is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and Yomiuri Giants.
Career
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
Okoye was selected by the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in the first round of the 2015 Nippon Professional Baseball draft; the pick was compensation for the Eagles losing the lottery to select Taiga Hirasawa. On June 22, 2016, Okoye hit his first career home run off of Shōta Imanaga of the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. In 51 appearances for the team during his rookie campaign, he batted.185/.233/.294 with one home run, six RBI, and four stolen bases.Okoye played in 41 games for Rakuten during the 2017 season, hitting.300/.331/.500 with three home runs, 11 RBI, and five stolen bases. After the season, Okoye joined the Cañeros de Los Mochis of the Mexican Pacific League. Returning to the club in 2018, he slashed.198/.219/.333 with two home runs, six RBI, and two stolen bases across 44 contests.
On August 13, 2019, Okoye hit for the cycle while playing for Rakuten's farm team, the first in team history. He made 52 appearances for the Eagles during the year, hitting.182/.242/.300 with three home runs, 15 RBI, and five stolen bases. Okoye did not make an appearance for the main club during the 2020 season, which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Okoye made 46 appearances for Rakuten during the 2021 season, slashing.223/.291/.234 with six RBI and three stolen bases. He played in only six games for the Eagles in 2022, going 5-for-25 with one stolen base.
Yomiuri Giants
On December 9, 2022, the NPB held its first ever "active player draft," similar to Major League Baseball's Rule 5 draft; in the draft, Okoye was selected by the Yomiuri Giants. He made 41 appearances for the Giants in 2023, batting.235/.278/.345 with two home runs, six RBI, and one stolen base. Okoye played in 68 games for Yomiuri during the 2024 campaign, slashing.261/.309/.391 with three home runs, 13 RBI, and four stolen bases.On May 2, 2025, Okoye underwent an arthroscopic removal of loose bodies in his right elbow, and was ruled out for two months. He made 61 appearances for Yomiuri during the regular season, batting.246/.291/.310 with five RBI and three stolen bases. On November 29, the Giants released Okoye so he could pursue overseas opportunities.