Kauai Football, baseball GPA: 3.88 College choice: Creighton

Shea Shimabukuro has always been more than a scholar-athlete with a 3.88 grade-point average.

He is, as most future dentists are, always ready with a smile. The 5-foot-10, two-sport standout has come up big for the Kauai Red Raiders in clutch situations again and again.

As a sophomore, he was a captain and earned the team’s linebacker award as Kauai won its sixth KIF title in a row. As a junior, he became an all-star receiver and place-kicker as Kauai won its seventh straight KIF crown and finished second to ‘Iolani in the state tournament.

As a senior, he made the switch to quarterback as the Red Raiders changed their entire offense, switching from a run and shoot to a wishbone. Shimabukuro’s versatility helped Kauai win an eighth consecutive KIF championship, and he was again an all-star kicker. His longest field goal was 53 yards, longest in the state last fall.

In baseball, he capped a fine career with KIF all-star honors and a complete-game victory on the mound as Kauai beat Pac-Five 11-2 for the DII state championship.

One of Kauai’s rival coaches, Gordon Muramaru of Kapaa, put it simply: “Shea is a humble, polite and hard-working young man. … During our last game against Kauai, one of my overzealous players ran past first base and threw a forearm in frustration, knocking off Shea’s glove. Shea picked up his glove and went back to his position as if nothing happened. After the game, my player apologized to Shea and Shea smiled, shook hands and hugged my player. My player felt bad about the incident and told me that Shea was a cool guy.”

Shimabukuro spent his off-season time as a KIF delegate and attended the National Federation of State High School Associations leadership conference. He’s active in many community refurbishment and beautification projects, and is a volunteer coach with the Lihue Baseball Clinic.

He will attend Creighton University with plans of becoming a dentist.