Part of what made Marcus Doi one of Hawaii baseball coach Mike Trapasso’s top recruits for 2014 was his versatility.

The 2013 Star-Advertiser state player of the year at Mid-Pacific came to UH ready to play in the outfield, at second base, or even catcher for the Rainbow Warriors this season.

When the team takes the field for today’s annual alumni game at Les Murakami Stadium, Doi likely won’t start out at any of those positions. Instead, the 5-foot-11 freshman will begin his college career manning first base.

"I thought I would stick to the outfield or second base this whole time, but however I can get on the field, I’m fine with," said Doi, who hit .423 as a senior at MPI, leading the Owls to their first state championship since 2002.

Doi was selected in the 25th round of last summer’s MLB draft by the Chicago Cubs. He was one of three UH commits from the state picked in the draft but is the only one to come to school.

"Summer was up and down, but it’s good to be here and I’m glad I made the choice to come and play for the hometown school," Doi said.

With Doi and incoming junior Jordan Richartz working out at first base, last year’s starter, Marc Flores, has spent the spring working out in the outfield.

The 6-foot-5 senior, who made 40 of his 45 starts last season at first, played in left field last summer for the Willmar Stingers in the Northwoods League, where he hit .352 with 13 homers, 26 doubles, 64 RBIs and eight stolen bases in 270 at-bats.

"It’s not a difficult change, but it’s a change from last year," said Flores, who hit .280 with a team-best 15 doubles for UH last season. "I’m excited to be back here playing with the guys and having a better season."

Flores said he’s lost 45 pounds since he came back to school last summer weighing around 250 pounds.

He says he’s down to 205 thanks to a strict diet in which he cooks all of his meals and refuses to eat any carbohydrates after 3 p.m.

"When I got back from the Northwoods League my blood pressure was very high and they almost didn’t pass me to play," Flores said. "I’ve dropped 45 pounds in a good, healthy way. I just cut out all of the junk food, and I’m feeling really good, my blood pressure is where it should be and I’m light on my feet. I feel like I can throw the ball now."

Doi and sophomore LJ Brewster, who will likely replace four-year starter Pi’ikea Kitamura at third base, might be the only two new starters on the field to begin the season.

First pitch for the alumni game is set for 1 p.m. Kitamura, current Arizona Diamondbacks minor leaguer Breland Almadova, Mark Rodrigues, and recent graduates Corey MacDonald and Jon Flinn are a few of the alumni expected to play.

Senior Matt Cooper, who went 3-8 with a 3.14 ERA last season, will get the start for UH.