University of Hawaii outfielder/first baseman Adam Fogel and relief pitcher Dylan Thomas made strong first impressions.

On Wednesday, Fogel and Thomas were named to Collegiate Baseball’s Freshman All-America team.

“It’s awesome, isn’t it?” UH coach Mike Trapasso said. “I’m happy for Adam and Dylan. It’s well deserved. I’m very happy for coaches (Carl) Fraticelli and (Rusty) McNamara because they recruited these guys.”

Fogel hit .296 with four home runs and a team-high 16 doubles. Thomas was 9-for-9 in save situations this past season.

“It was a great honor, but none of it would have been possible without great support from my coaches, family and especially teammates,” Fogel said. “They made it an easy place to play.”

Trapasso said shortstop Dustin Demeter and first baseman Logan Pouelsen also could have received consideration.

“This shows we were a young team, but made strides through the year,” Trapasso said. “We played three, four freshmen pretty much every day. I’m happy for these guys. First of all, they’re great kids. They’re good students. They’re getting rewarded for their hard work.”

Thomas was forced to redshirt in 2016 after struggling with his control. For this season, Thomas changed his form and increased his determination.

“I refused to be what I was last year,” Thomas said. “Deep down, I had that drive and confidence that really propelled me through this year. I have a hatred for failure.”

Trapasso said these honors should be viewed as a reward and motivation.

“This is a good cap for our season, a great acknowledgement for our players, and a little carrot for the next couple years,” Trapasso said.

In other baseball news, in an effort to boost the value of the pitching staff, the ’Bows secured a written commitment from left-handed Kash Koltermann of Bellevue (Wash.) Community College.

The past season, Koltermann was 8-1 with a 2.75 earned-run average and 3-to-1 ratio of strikeouts-to-walks. Discounting a dreadful game in which he yielded nine earned runs in three innings, his adjusted ERA would be 1.51. He did not allow more than three earned runs in any of his other nine starts.

Koltermann said he signed a letter of intent and is set to enroll at UH in July. He will be reunited with former Bellevue teammates Dylan Vchulek and Dominic DeMiero. Vchulek, the starting center fielder, led the ’Bows with a .302 average. DeMiero had a team-best 3.23 ERA.

Koltermann, Vchulek and DeMiero joined Bellevue in August 2014. Koltermann said he felt discomfort in his pitching shoulder at the end of training that fall. Bellevue’s policy is to rest pitchers for two months between fall and spring training.

“I told myself, ‘Let’s get through the shutdown and in two months it’ll be fine,’ ” Koltermann said. “Right after I started throwing again, the pain immediately came back, and that’s when I knew it would be over for that (2015) season.”

He underwent surgery to repair problems with his rotator cuff and labrum. He redshirted in 2015, returned to the mound in 2016, and excelled this past season.

Koltermann has a four-pitch repertoire, including a two-seam changeup that has become a money pitch.

“I felt confident throwing it in any count — ahead, behind 2-0 or even full counts,” Koltermann said. “The biggest thing is having a commitment to a pitch, and it’ll end up going for a strike more often than not.”

Koltermann is an avid golfer who lettered four years in that sport for Bonney Lake High. His younger brother is on the Bellevue golf team.

His unique first name fulfills his father’s promise. Koltermann’s grandfather wanted to name his son, Kash, but the suggestion was nixed by his grandmother. “My dad promised my grandpa he would name his first son, Kash,” Koltermann said.