Kansei Matsuzawa

Early life

Matsuzawa planned to play college soccer in Japan, but failed a required examination. His father, who had played youth American football, sent his son to visit the United States in 2018, where he attended a Monday Night Football Rams-Raiders game.

College career

Wanting to play in the NFL, Matsuzawa realized that the best way to do so would be as a placekicker. He taught himself how to kick the ball from YouTube videos while working at a Morton's Steakhouse in Tokyo for three years to save money. Matsuzawa sent footage of his kicking to American universities; only Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio was interested.

At Hocking, Matsuzawa learned English and converted 12 field goals, the longest 50 yards. In 2023, he transferred to the University of Hawaii but did not appear in any games. In his junior season, Matsuzawa started every game, led the team in scoring, and received an athletic scholarship at the end of the year.

During the first game of the 2025 season, Matsuzawa converted a field goal as time expired to beat Stanford, helping him win the Mountain West Conference Special Teams Player of the Week award. As of 3 December 2025 Matsuzawa was among the best kickers in college football, having made 25 of 26 field goals, the longest 52 yards, and 37 of 37 extra points.

On December 16, 2025, Matsuzawa was named as a consensus All-American, the first University of Hawaii player to earn the honor. He was named to the first team by the American Football Coaches Association, CBS Sports, the Associated Press, and the Walter Camp Football Foundation.

Personal life

Matsuzawa was born in Tokyo, Japan and attended Makuhari Sogo High School. Matsuzawa told CNN he draws inspiration from his idol, Japanese baseball player Shohei Ohtani.