The top linebacker from the nation’s top-ranked junior college has pledged to join the University of Hawaii football team.

Noah Kema of Snow College (Ephraim, Utah) will sign a letter of intent on Dec. 15, the first day of the early-commitment period for NCAA football prospects; complete work on his associate’s degree on Dec. 17, and join the Rainbow Warriors in January 2022. With Snow’s 2021 spring season not counting against the eligibility clock, Kema will have four years to play three UH seasons.

It will be a homecoming of sorts for Kema, who spent summers in Aiea with his paternal grandparents and other relatives. Kema attended Ho‘omaka‘ika‘i, a Kamehameha Schools-sponsored program that teaches Hawaiian history and culture. Kema said his father is 70% of Hawaiian ancestry.

Kema lived in several places as his father progressed in his coaching and administrative career. Troy Kema is Texas Tech’s associate athletic director/player development and student services, having previously worked at Texas A&M, Kansas and Utah State.

Noah Kema was a standout defensive player for Independence (Kan.) High. He played in the 2017 Polynesian Bowl. Kema then served a two-year church mission in California. After considering a preferred walk-on offer from Utah State, where his father was a decorated offensive lineman, Kema decided to enroll at Snow.

Because of the pandemic, the 2020 junior college season was postponed until the spring. Snow lost to Hutchinson College in the national championship game, during which Kema compiled nine tackles. The Badgers finished No. 2 in the NJCAA rankings.

But this fall, the Badgers are 4-0 and ranked atop the NJCAA poll.

Kema has been on the Warriors’ recruiting radar since early this year. “I always told them they would be at the top of my list,” Kema said. “I was always one who loved Hawaii.”

Kema, who is 6 feet 2 and 230 pounds, is projected to compete at linebacker for the Warriors.

Kema said he looks forward to eating a chicken katsu plate lunch. He said his hobbies include surfing, bodysurfing and hiking. Growing up in Kansas, he mused, “we surfed the wheat out there.”

“I loved my time in Kansas,” said Kema, who also enjoyed growing up in Texas and Utah. But “it’ll be good to be back (in Hawaii). I’ve been on the mainland so long, it’ll be good to be back. I’m passionate about Hawaii.”