Hawaii high school players have their day on signing day

The alarm rang on Loren Owan’s phone at precisely 4 a.m.

“I told myself I would sleep for five more minutes,” the Leilehua shortstop said. “Then my dad came in and was like, ‘You have to wake up,’ around 4:30.”

That is another facet of fatherly love. Owan and his parents, sister and grandparents trekked from Central Oahu to the Howard Hughes Corporation building courtyard on Wednesday to join two dozen other families for the National Letter of Intent signing ceremony hosted by Education 1st.

The spacious digs on an overcast, but dry morning provided a memory for life.

“It’s pretty good representing Leilehua and what the Mules are all about,” said Owan, who signed with Bethel College (Minn.). “I want to major in business and do something related to sports or just a good-paying job for me to live comfortably.”

The campus at Bethel, located in St. Paul, feels like home.

“I took the tour at Bethel and I really like how close the community is. People were saying hi to you. You didn’t even know them. You just feel welcomed,” said Owan, who has a 3.8 grade-point average. “I also like how secure the campus is. There’s security at each entrance. I also love how the baseball team is on a winning tradition, so I really wanted to be a part of that.”

The process of playing high school and club baseball year-round while maintaining a high GPA required time management — and timely reminders.

“My dad keeps me on check. He sends me pictures of my grades whenever I get an 80 or below for any assignment. He sends you the picture and asks, ‘What happened?’ I have to go fix it,” Owan said. “I’ve gotten straight A’s these past two quarters and they said, ‘Good job.’ ”

Owan was one of two players from the Hawaii Rockies club team to sign at the Education 1st ceremony.

“Thank you to all my coaches that helped me throughout this process and thank you to my parents for giving up a lot of time and money, especially this morning,” he said.

Two Moanalua baseball players signed their letters. Outfielder Rylan Li finalized his plan to play at North Park University (Ill.). Middle infielder Shayde Koga signed with George Fox.

“There were a couple other schools, but the coaches (at North Park) were a lot more proactive. I like the coaches a lot,” said Li, who has a 3.95 GPA. “I want to go into physical therapy, so I’m looking into kinesiology or exercise science. It’s motivation and discipline. It’s staying consistent with hard work. The passion and love for the game has really helped motivate me, too.”

Koga may have worn the most lei at the signing ceremony.

“The coaches are personable and their philosophy about baseball can really help me develop as a player,” said Koga, who plans to major in biology.

“(George Fox) is a Christian school. They have mandatory mass hours,” he said. “I want to become a dentist or orthodontist. I really like helping people.”

Pacific University (Ore.) scored nicely with two baseball signees: pitcher Trent Nagamine of Punahou and catcher-outfielder Nathaniel Wagner of Mid-Pacific.

“The coaches made me feel at home. It’s a great academic school and I love the facilities, too,” said Nagamine, who has a 3.6 GPA. “I’m not sure yet, but I might major in kinesiology or business.”

Wagner sported a classic, red Boxers cap. The ‘B’ is similar to the Boston Red Sox font.

“It feels like home away from home and there’s a big Hawaii connection there. I can see myself playing there for the next four years,” he said.

Wagner is learning toward kinesiology as a major.

“Through the years, small injuries and going to physical therapy, it just hit me in considering doing that as a job,” he said.

Former MPI player Kaden Okada, currently playing for Pacific, was a significant influence on Wagner.

“He said to keep working hard through high school. He talked to me about their culture and their program, and how tightly knit they are as a team,” Wagner said. “Shout out to M (Manoa) Valley. My mom and dad. Thank you for everything.”

Punahou linebacker GianCarlo Rufo signed with Georgetown.

“I wasn’t even aware of them until they reached out to me. I was very surprised and excited to get the opportunity at the Division I level and still get a great education. I did an official visit a few weeks ago,” Rufo said. “It was beautiful. Everything’s close together on campus. It’s a 15-minute bus ride from the White House.”

He’s hoping to major in business.

“There are so many opportunities for internships that are close to Washington, D.C. It’s such a big community with connections everywhere,” Rufo said. “There’s a senior linebacker who’s graduating this year and he’s going to work for the Miami Dolphins. I believe it’s marketing. That really sparked my interest. After football, I still want to be surrounded by sports.”

The Hoyas went 1-5 in the Patriot League, where Holy Cross was champion. The football slate also includes Fordham, Lafayette, Colgate, Bucknell and Lehigh.

Rufo was a Star-Advertiser All-State selection and has added 10 pounds of muscle since football season. He is now 6 feet, 2 inches and 218 pounds.

“They also play Ivy League schools, as well,” he said. “Just a huge thank you to all my coaches and teammates since Kalani Falcons Pop Warner days.”

Punahou water polo standout Kawehi Kauahi is on her way to Loyola Marymount.

“I knew the coach from before. He coached my sister here at Punahou,” Kauahi said of Lions coach Ikaika Aki. “He really inspired me to push for D-I.”

She plans to major in business entrepreneurship.

“I hope to possibly start a small business,” Kauahi said. “I want to shout out my sisters because they’ve been such an inspiration. They played water polo in high school and I started playing with them in sixth grade. My sister Danielle went to UCSB and my other sister Madison went to Pomona Pitzer.”

The opportunities are abundant when work ethic is applied in the class room. Rae Kamikawa is on her way to Pitzer College (Calif.). The soccer player plays on the I-AA team and she has a 3.97 GPA in Punahou’s unweighted system.

“I love that the Claremont Colleges, you can take classes from all five colleges. You can eat from all five colleges. I like that small-college feel, but you still get the whole college experience. You can branch out more,” Kamikawa said.

She had a concussion during junior year, which led her to a potential career path.

“So I learned a lot about the brain at Brain Health Hawaii. I went to treatments and that sparked my interest in the field. I want to become a neurologist, helping other athletes,” Kamikawa said. “I just want to learn more about the brain.”

Jaime Bhattacharyya of Mid-Pacific is in the midst of a busy week. He placed second in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle races at the ILH swimming championships over the weekend. On Wednesday, he signed with UC San Diego for water polo. The 6-3 senior is an All-ILH left-side attacker and all-around utility player for the Owls. He was on the national team in 2021 and traveled to Budapest.

“Everywhere you go, they have huge water polo facilities,” he said.

Bhattacharyya began swimming at the club level when he was 6. He didn’t play water polo until the end of eighth grade.

“A lot of people in Hawaii start in sixth or seventh grade. On the mainland, they start when they’re 9 or 10 years old,” he said.

Bhattacharyya was a fast learner.

“I played soccer, too. I went to Mid-Pac to play soccer, but once I tried water polo, I realized that’s what I would rather do,” he said.

It almost never happened. During eighth grade, friends convinced Bhattacharyya to join the water polo team after preseason had already begun.

“My coach, Ray Nunes, let me try out. If he hadn’t done that, I probably wouldn’t have ever played water polo,” Bhattacharyya said.

The summer of 2022 was a game changer.

“I played for Del Mar Water Polo Club in San Diego in the summer, from the beginning of June to the end of July.”

That is when UC San Diego took notice.

“I was looking at UC Santa Barbara and UCLA, but I had to make a decision. I went on my official (visit) to UC San Diego. I’m going into environmental studies and they have a good program,” he said. “It’s one of the best in the world.”

Punahou volleyball player Samantha Okano signed with Long Beach State for beach volleyball.

“It feels good knowing my hard work paid off and how far I’ve come since the beginning,” she said. “I like that Long Beach State is pretty close to home and it’s pretty diverse like Hawaii. It’s right near the beach.”

She chose LBSU over Loyola Marymount and CSUN.

“I really like the coaches and the culture there,” said Okano, who has a 3.8 GPA and plans to major in kinesiology.