Daegu Ko Jeong-il, the 'completed ace' who also paid attention to ML, said, "I was disappointed even 149km, and I aimed for a faster ball like Ahn Woo-jin." [Interview]

*This content was translated by AI.

Daegu High School ace Jung-il (18) dreamed of becoming a right-handed fireballer like role model Ahn Woo-jin (27, Kiwoom Heroes).

This year, Daegu High School, led by head coach Son Kyung-ho (60), is one of the teams expected to win the national championship with a solid mound and a well-organized lineup. A clean-up trio led by Kang Jeong-gyeom (19) and Kim Dae-wook (18), who have strong feet and on-base strength, and catcher Seo Dong-wan (18) and catcher Lee Kun-hee (19) and Kim Min-chan (19), who have a strong physique of 194cm and weight of 110kg, are the subject of attention.

However, the strongest strength is the mound that can build up to five starters. Starting with Jung Il (18) who is also expected to be nominated in the first round of the 2027 KBO Rookie Draft, Cho Yong-joon (19), who has an attractive splitter, Jang Mi-hyuk (18), who is already expected to throw 147 kilometers per hour, Lee Hyun-min (18), a 147-kilometer left-hander who is expected to throw both pitching and batting, and Jung Il's twin brother Jung-il (18) are full of KBO scouts on one side of Daegu High School thanks to attractive pitchers.

Among them, the most anticipated is definitely ace Jung Il. As of February 2026, powerful fastballs, stable sliders, curves, and change-up control from the 189cm tall, 85kg weight caught the attention of scouts from their first year.

Last year, the first full-time season, met that expectation. He completely filled ace Kim Min-joon (20, SSG Landers) with 3 wins and 3 losses with a 1.54 ERA, 14 walks and 49 strikeouts in 40 ⅔ innings, and 0.88 WHIP (on-base allowance per inning). A KBO scout A said on the phone with Star News, "Jung Il played a lot of games even though he was a second grader last year, and his ball power and speed were really good. "I saw it in person up to 148 kilometers per hour, but there is plenty of room for a rise in speed," he said.

Among those good Daegu high school pitchers, Jung Il was the only one who met the eyes of Major League scouts. ML Scout B said of his possibility of entering the U.S., "I think Jung Il is the only one at Daegu High School for now. He has good physical conditions, but he constantly throws 146 kilometers per hour, and he has everything he has as a pitcher, such as sliders and changeups. He said he would be a first-round candidate in the KBO, but he is also competitive in the United States (compared to prospects of the same age)."

In addition to the two, Jung-il's evaluation from multiple scouts was a complete pitcher who was constantly good at everything without any ups and downs. It is similar to Kim Min-joon, a senior at Daegu High School who was evaluated as an instant power and was nominated by SSG in the first round last year. Major League Scout B said, "It's the type scouts will like. He knows how to be bold and fight the batter on the mound. Whatever the situation, it was attractive to enjoy it on the mound."

Jeong Il, who actually met, was calmer than I thought. Jung-il, who builds up his body in time for the opening of the regular season, did not even play in the winter league game against Yoo Shin-go on the 4th. He is aiming to take the mound at the end of February while focusing on weight training as in previous years. Jeong Il, who met with Star News, said, "I made my body well last year, but it wasn't as fast as I thought (149km/h) so it was a pity. I want to throw more than 153km this year, so I'm working hard to build my body," he said.

He is a real Samsung Lions fan who started playing baseball in the second grade of Chilseong Elementary School in Daegu and went to Hyeopseong Gyeongbok Middle School-Daegu High School, but surprisingly, his role model is Ahn Woo-jin. This is because it is a dream to be a right-hander ace with fastball like Ahn Woo-jin.

Jeong Il-il said, "I want to meet a role model and a player I want to meet is Ahn Woo-jin. It was really cool to see him throw a fast ball on the mound. I'm confident in my fastball and slider, but my goal this year is to throw a lot of innings. I'm confident in the stamina, but I want to show it as a grade this year," he stressed.

"I also take the mound with the mindset that I will win everything in any situation. As such, I want to prepare well and not get hurt and achieve Daegu High School's championship and youth national team this year. If I go professional like that, I really want to compete with Kim Do-young, the best hitter in the KBO," he said.

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*This content was translated by AI.