Kole Kaler noticed by baseball publication but wants to return to University of Hawaii

After a debut season capped with a recent national honor, Hawaii shortstop Kole Kaler is preparing for a baseball encore.

Barring selection in Major League Baseball’s coming five-round draft, Kaler said, “I will be back for the second year.”

The MLB’s draft for first-year players is set for June 10 and 11, after which teams are allowed to offer undrafted players up to $20,000 each in signing bonuses. Juniors from four-year colleges are eligible for the draft. Kaler, who competed as a junior this past season after transferring from South Mountain Community College, will have the same bargaining leverage next year. Because the pandemic abbreviated the 2020 season, the NCAA is allowing baseball players to maintain this year’s class standing for the 2020-21 academic year.

Kaler said he would like to return to complete work on a bachelor’s degree … and to play another season with the Rainbow Warriors.

“Honestly, it was the best two months of my life,” Kaler said of the 11-6 season. “It was a great time. Everything about it was fun.”

Kaler, who hit .406, was sixth nationally in doubles (nine) and 10th in triples (three). He topped the Big West with 17 RBI (eight of which came with two outs) and was second with a .661 slugging percentage. He batted .579 with runners in scoring position.

On Wednesday, Kaler was named to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s All-America third team. He became the first ’Bow to receive All-America recognition since Kolten Wong and Lenny Linsky in 2011. It also marked the first national recognition since UH joined the Big West at the start of the 2012-13 academic year.

“I was kind of surprised,” Kaler said of the third-team listing. “I was super honored to be considered one of the better players in the country. It was cool.”

Kaler, who grew up in Arizona, said he always loved the sport.

“I’m a junkie for it,” Kaler said. “Every single thing about it, I love. Just the process of everything is what I enjoy the most. Just seeing the progress I’ve made in the past two years, I mean, that’s what I love about it the most.”

Kaler, who is right-handed, taught himself to become a switch hitter when he was 6. “I didn’t do it in a game until I was 11,” Kaler said.

He was mostly a shortstop until his freshman year at South Mountain, when he played second. He moved to short as a sophomore. Kaler said he chose to transfer to UH because of the “coaching staff, honestly. Coach Trap (head coach Mike Trapasso) and Coach (Mike) Brown, they told me I could make an impact right away. Them believing in me was a huge part of my decision, for sure.”