The 96th Natsu Koushien Field

Here is the field for the tournament:

The current powerhouses...

• Aomori - Hachinohe Gakuin Kousei (7th appearance, 1st in 2 years)
• Kyoto - Ryuukokudai Heian (33rd appearance, 1st in 2 years)
• Osaka - Osaka Touin (8th appearance, 3rd consecutive)
• Okinawa - Okinawa Shougaku (7th appearance, 2nd consecutive)

The established guard...

• Fukushima - Seikou Gakuin (11th appearance, 8th consecutive)
• Tochigi - Sakushin Gakuin (10th appearance, 4th consecutive)
• Ishikawa - Seiryou (17th appearance, 2nd consecutive)
• Mie - Mie (12th appearance, 2nd consecutive)
• Nara - Chiben Gakuen (17th appearance, 3rd consecutive)
• Kochi - Meitoku Giyuku (16th appearance, 5th consecutive)

The new guard...

• Niigata - Nihon Bunri (8th appearance, 2nd consecutive)
• Gifu - Oogaki Nichidai (3rd appearance, 2nd consecutive)
• Tokushima - Naruto (9th appearance, 3rd consecutive)

The teams that are returning after a brief hiatus:

• Iwate - Moriokadai Fuzoku (8th appearance, 1st in 2 years)
• Kanagawa - Toukaidai Sagami (9th appearance, 1st in 4 years)
• Yamanashi - Toukaidai Koufu (12th appearance, 1st in 2 years)
• Shizuoka - Shizuoka (23rd appearance, 1st in 3 years)
• Nagano - Saku Chousei (6th appearance, 1st in 2 years)
• Hiroshima - Kouryou (21st appearance, 1st in 4 years)
• Fukuoka - Kyushu Kokusaidai Fuzoku (5th appearance, 1st in 3 years)
• Saga - Saga Kita (4th appearance, 1st in 2 years)
• Nagasaki - Kaisei 海星 (17th appearance, 1st in 3 years)

The ones we say 久しぶり to:

• Gunma - Takasaki Kenkou Fukushidai Takasaki [aka Kendai Takasaki] (2nd appearance, 1st in 3 years)
• Nishi Tokyo - Nichidai Tsurugaoka (3rd appearance, 1st in 6 years)
• Yamagata - Yamagata Chuo (2nd appearance, 1st in 4 years)
• Ibaraki - Fujishiro (3rd appearance, 1st in 3 years)
• Fukui - Tsuruga Kehi (6th appearance, 1st in 5 years)
• Aichi - Touhou (16th appearance, 1st in 6 years)
• Shiga - Oumi (11th appearance, 1st in 6 years)
• Tottori - Yazu (8th appearance, 1st in 4 years)
• Shimane - Kaisei (9th appearance, 1st in 3 years)
• Okayama - Kanzei (9th appearance, 1st in 3 years)
• Yamaguchi - Iwakuni (5th appearance, 1st in 7 years)
• Kumamoto - Jyouhoku (4th appearance, 1st in 6 years)
• Miyazaki - Nichinan Gakuen (7th appearance, 1st in 3 years)

The ones we say おかえり to:

• Saitama - Kasukabe Kyouei (5th appearance, 1st in 9 years)
• Minami Hokkaido - Toukai Dai-yon (5th appearance, 1st in 21 years)
• Toyama - Toyama Shougyou (16th appearance, 1st in 10 years)
• Wakayama - Shiritsu Wakayama (4th appearance, 1st in 10 years)
• Kagawa - Sakaide Shougyou (8th appearance, 1st in 20 years)

The newcomers...

• Kita Hokkaido - Bushuukan
• Akita - Kakunodate
• Miyagi - Rifu
• Higashi Tokyo - Nisshougakushadai Fuzoku
• Chiba - Toukaidai Bouyou
• Hyogo - Kobe Kokusaidai Fuzoku
• Ehime - Komatsu
• Oita - Oita
• Kagoshima - Kanoya Chuo

And now the brackets are out.

Now, remember how the new format works.  Gone are the 8 groups.  Instead, to try and give teams the maximum rest possible, teams draw into the following rounds.  This supposedly avoids having groups of death, but also in theory makes it harder for the non-powerhouses to go deep without having to face a strong team.

That's not to say that the stronger teams can't draw each other in their opening games, and in some cases they did:

• Day 3, Game 4 - Mie v. Kouryou
• Day 5, Game 1 - Meitoku Gijyuku v. Chiben Gakuen
• Day 5, Game 2 - Kaisei (Shimane) v. Osaka Touin
• Day 7, Game 1 - Okinawa Shougaku v. Sakushin Gakuin

Of course with these teams playing each other, it's almost inevitable that two newcomers/making a return trip after many years off end up playing each other.  Or, there is the apparent David v. Goliath matchup.

Rosters are in the process of being translated and analysis (as best as I can provide) will follow in the days before Koushien begins.