A former Pearl City High School standout is in the University of Hawaii baseball team’s future.

Matt Aribal, a second baseman who played the past two seasons with Central Arizona College, is the 11th member of the Rainbow Warriors’ 2021 recruiting class. Wednesday is the start of the signing period for NCAA baseball prospects.

Aribal said he initially chose to go to the mainland to “experience college away from home. Meet new people, see new places. After this being my third year here, I decided I wanted to come back home and play in front of my family and represent my home state.”

As a freshman in 2019, Aribal hit .295 and had 16 steals in 17 attempts. The pandemic abbreviated the 2020 season, giving Aribal the spring semester to play before joining the ’Bows. Aribal can play middle-infield positions and, with his speed and defensive skills, projects as a possible center fielder for the ’Bows.

Aribal is part of a baseball family. His father, older brother and younger siblings have played the sport. “My older brother is five years older than me, and I grew up watching him play,” Aribal said. “I was 4 when I started. We’d spend every day around the ball field. It just clicked.”

The summer before his senior year at Pearl City High, Aribal played for a travel club that reached the championship game of the 2018 RBI World Series. The game was played at Great American Ball Park, the Cincinnati Reds’ home stadium. “It was amazing,” Aribal said. “The field was perfect. It was a great atmosphere.”

Aribal’s team, Nobu Yamauchi, defeated a team from Paterson, N.J., for the title. “We were definitely the underdogs,” Aribal said.

It was former Pearl City head coach Peter Arakawa who helped Aribal developed his quick swing. Aribal also credit Central Arizona coaches Sam Lind and Joe Perez. “They gave me a lot of good information,” Aribal said.

Earlier, the ’Bows received commitments from pitchers Cory Ronan, Ben Whipple, Junior Flores, Anu Reis, Eli Hoyt, Cal Barna, Harry Gustin and Nate Brouse; shortstop/third baseman Bronson Rivera, and infielder/outfielder Kody Watanabe.