Hawaii third baseman Dustin Demeter says being selected All-Big West first team is ‘awesome’

It was 13 games into Hawaii’s baseball season, and third baseman Dustin Demeter’s foot and batting average (.226) were ailing.

“If you told me in the middle of the year I’d be (on the Big West) first team, I would have told you, ‘you’re crazy,’ because I was hurt and not playing well,” Demeter said.

After missing 13 games because of the foot injury, Demeter thrived as a designated hitter, batting .359 in the final 23 games. On Tuesday, Demeter was named to the Big West’s first team as a DH. He finished with a .325 average and team highs in homers (6) and RBIs (34).

Center fielder Adam Fogel and right-handed pitcher Cade Halemanu were named to the second team. Aaron Davenport, UH’s Friday night starter, received honorable mention.

Told of his selection, Demeter said, “That’s awesome. Sweet. That’s cool. … That award means a lot to me. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. … I was hurt a little bit. I wasn’t expecting to get anything. But now that I got it, it’s pretty cool.”

As a Dos Pueblos High (Goleta, Calif.) senior in 2016, Demeter was projected as high draft pick. But he insisted he wanted to go to UH to further develop his baseball skills and earn a degree. “Not a bad decision,” said Demeter, who has a bachelor’s degree. “It’s been awesome at Hawaii.”

Demeter played shortstop as a UH freshman in 2017 and second base in 2018. He missed the entire 2019 season while recovering from injuries that required surgeries to both hips. He moved to third for the pandemic-abbreviated 2020 season.

He had a slow start this season before incurring the foot injury. But Demeter, who was forced to move from third base to designated hitter because of the residual effects of the injury, went on a hitting tear when he re-entered the UH lineup. In a four-game series against Cal State Fullerton, Demeter went 11-for-19 with two home runs and 14 RBIs. He drove in six runs each in back-to-back games. Collegiate Baseball Newspaper named Demeter as the national player of the week.

“The move to DH was really good for my foot and body,” Demeter said. “Toward the end of the year, it felt really good.”

Demeter has the option of returning to UH for a sixth year if he is not drafted or offered a free-agent contract in July. He is scheduled to play in the Northwoods League this summer. “I’ll go play this summer and see what happens,” Demeter said.

Fogel, a fifth-year junior, hit .323 and played solid defensively. In the final 20 games, he hit .438.

On Monday, outfielder Scotty Scott announced he was entering the NCAA transfer portal.

Halemanu was 5-2 with a 3.60 ERA. He emerged as a draft prospect after hitting 96 mph in a game against Fullerton. Davenport averaged 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings. He allowed only 21 walks in 862⁄3 innings.