Biography
A three-time All-New Jersey Athletic Conference star in the Rutgers-Camden midfield, Kaito Kitazawa captured a pair of NJAC Second Team honors, sandwiched around his stellar junior season in which he earned NJAC First Team recognition and was named the conference’s Pat Baldiserra Midfielder of the Year. The award is named after the late great Scarlet Raptor midfielder Pat Baldiserra.
A two-time team captain, Kitazawa played in 67 games at Rutgers-Camden, starting 65. He produced eight goals and three assists for 19 career points, including one game-winning goal.
An outstanding student as well, the dual Finance and Accounting major earned numerous academic honors.
Academics: New Jersey Athletic Conference Academic Honorable Mention for the 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 scholastic years…Rutgers-Camden Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the 2018 Fall, 2019 Spring, 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, 2021 Spring, 2021 Fall and 2022 Spring semesters…Dean’s List all eight semesters…During the 2019 Spring semester, he was one of only 20 athletes on the 141-member AD Honor Roll to post a 4.0 GPA.
Soccer 2021: Named to United Soccer Coaches All-Region IV Third Team... New Jersey Athletic Conference Second Team…Team co-captain…Started all of his 18 Rutgers-Camden games in the midfield…Collected one assist, coming on a goal by Skyler Diggs in a 2-1 loss at Kean University (Sept. 25)…Played every minute of 10 games, including all 110 minutes in a 1-1 tie at Cabrini (Sept. 15)…Also played 105 of the 110 minutes in a 0-0 tie against New York University (Sept. 4)…Took 19 shots, with a high of four in a 2-1 loss at The College of New Jersey (Oct. 13)…Had nine shots on goal, including two apiece in back-to-back games against Kean (Sept. 25) and Stockton (Sept. 29).
Soccer 2020: Earned the New Jersey Athletic Conference’s Pat Baldiserra Midfielder of the Year honor…NJAC First Team…Rutgers-Camden tri-captain…In a shortened season switched to March, 2021 due to the pandemic, played in six of the Scarlet Raptors’ seven games, starting all six…Finished second on the team in scoring with two goals and four points…Took 13 shots, six on goal…After missing the Raptors’ season opener, started in all six games the rest of the season…Played 72 minutes in the March 13 game against William Paterson and played all 90 minutes in his remaining five games…Scored an insurance goal in the team’s 2-0 win at New Jersey City (March 17), which gave Head Coach Tim Oswald his 200th career victory at Rutgers-Camden…Took his season high of five shots in that game, with three on goal…Notched the Raptors’ lone goal in their 3-1 loss to Montclair State (April 10) in the NJAC semifinals…At the time, his goal tied the game at 1-1.
Soccer 2019: Only player on the team to appear in all 21 games…Started 20 of them…Collected two goals, one of them a game-winning tally, for four points…Took 23 shots, six on goal…Named New Jersey Athletic Conference Second Team…Honored as a member of the Cialella Soccer Classic’s All-Tournament Team (Sept. 7-8)…Scored his first goal in a 5-3 victory over Cabrini (Sept. 11)…Notched the game-winning goal minutes before halftime in an eventual 2-0 win over Rowan (Oct. 17)…Played the entire game on 10 occasions, including all 110 minutes in a 2-2 tie against Kean (Sept. 28) and a 0-0 deadlock against Stockton (Nov. 2).
Soccer 2018: Played in all 22 Rutgers-Camden games, starting 21…Third on the team in scoring with 10 points (four goals and two assists)…Third on the team with 27 shots and 14 shots on goal…Made his collegiate debut in the season opener, starting and playing 79 minutes in a 3-2 win over New York University (Aug. 31)…Notched the Raptors’ lone goal in a 1-1 tie against Alvernia (Sept. 5) for his first collegiate points…Scored his second career goal three days later in a 3-1 win over Staten Island (Sept. 8)…Had his first assist in a 2-1 loss against Emory (Sept. 9) when he played all 90 minutes for the first time…Scored the Raptors’ first goal in back-to-back 2-1 wins over Rutgers-Newark (Oct. 6) and Lancaster Bible (Oct. 10)…Collected an assist in a 2-0 victory over Hood in the ECAC tournament (Nov. 10).
High School: Three-year soccer letterman at Bonner & Prendergast Catholic High School (Drexel Hill, Penn.) for Coach Tom Markopoulos…All-Catholic Third Team as a junior and All-Catholic Second Team as a senior…Graduated in 2018.
Club Team: FC Europa
Personal: Born December 7, 1999…Nicknamed “Kai”…Name pronounced KAI-toe kit-a-ZHAW-a…Hobbies and interests include scuba diving, cooking and surfing…Dual Finance and Accounting major at Rutgers-Camden…Kaito is the son of Eri Kitazawa of Tokyo, Japan.
