Cal men’s soccer signs Japanese attacker Shoei Honda to NLI

BERKELEY – Japanese midfielder/forward Shoei Honda signed a National Letter of Intent with the California men’s soccer program, head coach Kevin Grimes announced. Honda, 19, will join Cal in the fall.

Honda hails from the city of Sakado, located 25 miles from Tokyo.

The 5-8 Honda led his Teikyo Nagaoka High School team to third place in the 2020 All-Japan High School Soccer Tournament and to fourth place overall in the JFA U-18 Takamadonomiya Cup (Prince League Hokoshinetsu) in 2019.

In the summer of 2020, Honda trained with Dutch clubs Feyenoord Rotterdam and FC Groningen.

“Shoei is a fantastic signing for the program,” Grimes said. “He had several opportunities to play professionally in Japan, but chose his academic endeavors first. He is a prolific goalscorer and has proven that at every level he has played. We are delighted to add him to the team for this fall.”