{"id":230,"date":"2026-05-23T10:37:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T10:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=230"},"modified":"2026-05-23T10:37:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T10:37:02","slug":"ousted-hawaii-baseball-team-begins-preparing-for-next-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=230","title":{"rendered":"Ousted Hawaii baseball team begins preparing for next season"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

IRVINE, Calif. \u2014 After its season ended on Wednesday at the Big West Tournament, the Hawaii baseball team was informed the next available return flight to Hawaii would be on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Read more Management plan in the works for Hilo Bay watershed<\/a><\/p>\n

That forced the coaches to work remotely. And as they have proven, the remote does not feature a pause.<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cZero pause,\u201d said UH coach Rich Hill. \u201cIt\u2019s pedal-to-the-metal in terms of recruiting, exit meetings, all the stuff you have to do to end the season. Get guys back on campus, and then get them out (to summer leagues). And just all that recruiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rainbow Warriors have been bracing for another makeover. Seventeen seniors were celebrated at the \u2019Bows\u2019 home finale. The \u2019Bows could lose more players when the month-long NCAA transfer portal opens on June 1.<\/p>\n

The three-day, 20-round Major League Baseball Draft in mid-July might impact the \u2019Bows starting rotation. Isaiah Magdaleno, who was named to the All-Big West first team, and Hekili Robello, a second-team selection, are considered draft prospects. Shortstop Elijah Ickes also is considered a prospective draft choice. All three completed their junior year \u2014 a standing that gives them the most bargaining leverage because of the option to return to school.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could have an older team,\u201d associate head coach Keith Zuniga said. \u201cBut they all could potentially \u2014 because they\u2019ve earned it \u2014 hear their name called.\u201d<\/p>\n

Magdaleno has secured representation with Tim Trafficanda of TWC Sports Management. Magdaleno finished his 2026 season 7-5 with a 2.36 ERA and 0.92 WHIP while averaging 10.95 strikeouts per nine innings. During a three-game stretch covering 27 innings to end the regular season, Magdaleno allowed one run and six hits while striking out 39. He twice was named national pitcher of the week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel I put myself in a pretty good spot,\u201d Magdaleno said. \u201cIt\u2019s up in the air from here.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has not ruled out a return to UH for a senior season.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never know,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll see what happens. I don\u2019t know anything for certain right now. Just enjoying it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Magdaleno said he has no plans to pitch in a summer league. He pitched in the prestigious Cape Cod League last summer. Magdaleno, who possesses a dominant changeup, is seeking to amp his 92-mph fastball.<\/p>\n

Ickes is an intriguing prospect. He has all-fields power, as well as the strength to make long throws from short. But he missed 20 games after suffering a wrist injury. He returned for the final regular-season series, going 3-for-4 while falling a homer shy of the cycle. But the next game, he suffered a hamstring injury. He did not play in Wednesday\u2019s tournament game against Cal State Fullerton.<\/p>\n

Third baseman Tate Shimao, one of the key returners, was supposed to compete in the Cape Cod League this summer. Instead, Shimao will take time off to fully heal from a thumb injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo surgery,\u201d Hill said, \u201cbut he needs two, three months off doing nothing for that thing to heal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Nick Kurtz comes through again as A\u2019s take set from Angels<\/a><\/p>\n

Hill revealed that infielder Noah Rodriguez, who did not play on Wednesday, had been playing with a fractured hamate bone \u201cuntil he couldn\u2019t take it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reliever Tsubasa Tomii, who was named to the All-Big West first team, and left-hander Grant Garman are scheduled to pitch in the Cape Cod League. Catcher Jake Redding, first baseman Josh Martin and designated hitter Mana Lau Kong will either play summer ball or train this offseason.<\/p>\n

Zuniga, who doubles as the pitching coach, and assistant coaches Dave Nakama, and Jordan Twohig have been on recruiting missions in recent days. The \u2019Bows have received commitments from at least 12 prospects \u2014 a number that will grow after the portal opens.<\/p>\n

The \u2019Bows are moving to the Mountain West, where several campuses are located in elevation (with the ball traveling farther because of the thin air).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t really said we\u2019re going to change how we do things,\u201d Hill said. \u201cWe need power, as it is. That\u2019s just a priority for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u2019Bows hit .250 and averaged 4.7 runs per game. They managed 17 home runs \u2014 five of them from senior Ben Zeigler-Namoa.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to have the ability to score runs quick, and we\u2019re recruiting for that,\u201d Hill said.<\/p>\n

As always, the \u2019Bows are seeking strike-throwing pitchers with swing-and-miss abilities. This season, the \u2019Bows were third nationally with a 3.44 ERA. In addition to freshman Brody Martin-Grudzielanek, who emerged as a weekend starter, three pitchers who redshirted \u2014 Sebastian Gonzalez, Shannon Fee and Parker Grant \u2014 will be considerations in 2027.<\/p>\n

There is one pitching certainty.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m here, 10 toes down,\u201d Zuniga said. \u201cI love being here. My family loves being here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hill said reflecting on the season is an on-going process. After Wednesday\u2019s elimination game, Hill praised his players.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery proud of the group,\u201d Hill said. \u201cI know coaches always say that, and it\u2019s a cliche. \u2026 I told the guys there\u2019s no plaque, there\u2019s no trophy, that\u2019s ever going to be awarded to the group. But what they did, with the injuries and the setbacks and the defections to professional baseball and the portal, this really was astonishing. The lay person is going to see the record. But when you start peeling back the layer and really understand the obstacles these guys overcame to get to a fourth seed, it was pretty amazing.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Read more PHOTOS: \u2018Riders recap year at annual athletics ceremony<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ousted Hawaii baseball team begins preparing for next season – Sports | Hawaii Tribune-Herald<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nOusted Hawaii baseball team begins preparing for next season - Moving to Hawaii Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=230\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ousted Hawaii baseball team begins preparing for next season - Moving to Hawaii Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ousted Hawaii baseball team begins preparing for next season - Sports | Hawaii Tribune-Herald\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=230\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving to Hawaii Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-23T10:37:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/?p=230#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/?p=230\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/aab134479722ebfc548519f5ae92ff84\"},\"headline\":\"Ousted Hawaii baseball team begins preparing for next season\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-23T10:37:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/?p=230\"},\"wordCount\":924,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/?p=230#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/1d5d1e2d3de1e48b14de7bce2226a643.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/?p=230#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/?p=230\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/?p=230\",\"name\":\"Ousted Hawaii baseball team begins preparing for next season - Moving to Hawaii Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/?p=230#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/?p=230#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/1d5d1e2d3de1e48b14de7bce2226a643.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-23T10:37:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/aab134479722ebfc548519f5ae92ff84\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/?p=230#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/?p=230\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/?p=230#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/1d5d1e2d3de1e48b14de7bce2226a643.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/1d5d1e2d3de1e48b14de7bce2226a643.webp\",\"width\":760,\"height\":506},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/?p=230#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ousted Hawaii baseball team begins preparing for next season\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Moving to Hawaii Guide\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/aab134479722ebfc548519f5ae92ff84\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ousted Hawaii baseball team begins preparing for next season - Moving to Hawaii Guide","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=230","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ousted Hawaii baseball team begins preparing for next season - Moving to Hawaii Guide","og_description":"Ousted Hawaii baseball team begins preparing for next season - Sports | Hawaii Tribune-Herald","og_url":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=230","og_site_name":"Moving to Hawaii Guide","article_published_time":"2026-05-23T10:37:02+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=230#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=230"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/aab134479722ebfc548519f5ae92ff84"},"headline":"Ousted Hawaii baseball team begins preparing for next season","datePublished":"2026-05-23T10:37:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=230"},"wordCount":924,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=230#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1d5d1e2d3de1e48b14de7bce2226a643.webp","articleSection":["Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=230#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=230","url":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=230","name":"Ousted Hawaii baseball team begins preparing for next season - Moving to Hawaii Guide","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=230#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=230#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1d5d1e2d3de1e48b14de7bce2226a643.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-23T10:37:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/aab134479722ebfc548519f5ae92ff84"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=230#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=230"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=230#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1d5d1e2d3de1e48b14de7bce2226a643.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1d5d1e2d3de1e48b14de7bce2226a643.webp","width":760,"height":506},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=230#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ousted Hawaii baseball team begins preparing for next season"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/","name":"Moving to Hawaii Guide","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/aab134479722ebfc548519f5ae92ff84","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com"],"url":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}