Schafer was born in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, to a Japanese mother, Sayuki, and an American father, Douglas.

[4][5] He played club basketball with Tokyo Samurai, a recognized American Amateur Athletic Union based in Japan.

[2][6] After moving to the United States, Schafer attended prep school Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire and played varsity basketball for the Bobcats during his senior year.

He helped the team finish the season with a 33–0 record and win the national prep school championship and the NEPSAC class AAA title.

[8][9] As a sophomore, he appeared in two games, garnering a total of two rebounds and three minutes,[9][10] before leaving Georgia Tech in the fall of 2018 to play professional basketball in Japan.

[11][12] He made his professional debut on 22 December, against the Yokohama B-Corsairs, scoring two points and grabbing one rebound across three minutes of action.

[31] Schafer made his international debut when he was selected to be a part of the Japanese squad that competed at the 2016 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship, where he helped the team win the silver medal.

[40][41] A year later, Schafer competed for the Japanese squad at the 2019 William Jones Cup, where he helped the team win the bronze medal.

[44] Schafer played for Japan at the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, where he averaged 6.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.