Kotaro Uchino

is a Japanese footballer currently playing as a forward for J1 League club Mito HollyHock, on loan from Danish Superliga club Brøndby.

Club career Early career Uchino began his career in the academy of Yokohama F. Marinos, where he established himself as a clinical goal-scorer, scoring twenty-one goals in the 2022 season, breaking the all-time record at that level for the number of goals scored in one league season. In July of the same year, as his performances impressed Marinos' board, he was registered for the first team as a "Type 2 player" (term used in Japan to say the player is currently eligible to play both for the U-18s and for the first-team).

Having spoken with Kosei Suwama and Ryotaro Tsunoda, who had both attended the University of Tsukuba, Uchino decided to commit to the university, rather than continue his career with Yokohama.

University of Tsukuba Uchino committed to study at the University of Tsukuba ahead of the 2023 season, and he immediately had an impact on the school's football team, scoring seven goals in his first six games. For his goal-scoring exploits, he was compared to both Shuhei Akasaki, who held the record for most goals as a university freshman with thirteen, as well as former University of Tsukuba alumni Kaoru Mitoma, who had also made a name for himself in Japan for his performances at university level.

On 2024, he was the top scorer for his university at the Kanto University Football League, and joint-third overall, scoring 11 goals in 19 appearances. He scored the lone goal to tie the match for Tsukuba against the 2024 J1 League leaders at the time, Machida Zelvia. After the 1–1 draw at regulation time, Tsukuba was able to earn a giant-killing win on penalty shoot-out by 4–2, in which Uchino converted his penalty.

Brøndby On 23 June 2025, Brøndby IF announced that Uchino would join from the University of Tsukuba on a contract running until June 2029, following a ten-day trial with the Danish Superliga club in March. Football director Benjamin Schmedes described him as "one of Japan's greatest talents of his generation" with "unique individual qualities as a striker" and a "strong will to develop".

On 21 July 2025, Uchino made his competitive debut, coming on as a substitute for Clement Bischoff in a 3–0 Superliga opening-round victory over Silkeborg, becoming the second Japanese player to appear for Brøndby's first team after Yuito Suzuki. His appearances became increasingly limited after Steve Cooper was appointed head coach in September 2025, and by February 2026 Uchino was being left out of match squads entirely.

Loan to Vissel Kobe Having made ten appearances across all competitions without scoring in the league, Brøndby announced on 5 March 2026 that Uchino would join Vissel Kobe on loan until 30 June, with no purchase option included in the agreement. Schmedes said the "path to playing time here in Brøndby is a little too long" and that Uchino would return to the club in the summer with three years remaining on his contract.

International career Having been routinely called up for youth team training camps, Uchino was called up to the Japanese under-19 side for the 2023 Maurice Revello Tournament. Buoyed by his performances for the University of Tsukuba football team, he stated that he wanted to score in every single game he played in.

Style of play During his time in the Yokohama F. Marinos academy, Uchino grew frustrated with his teammates inability to pick him out with their passes.

Honours Vissel Kobe J1 100 Year Vision League: 2026 Japan U23 AFC U-23 Asian Cup: 2024