One of the goals Portland baseball coach Geoff Loomis sets for his team each season is to leave the program in a better place than when the season started.

Punahou alum Jake Tsukada has managed to check that goal off his list every year.

Last season, the 5-foot-9 infielder helped the Pilots to their best season in the West Coast Conference since joining it in 1996.

Portland went 32-23 overall, 17-10 in conference play and earned the program’s first win ever in the WCC Tournament.

The Pilots have improved their record in the league every year since the season prior to Tsukada’s arrival in the summer of 2019.

“I think the trend is going up,” Tsukada said in a phone interview Monday. “Our motto is to leave the place better than we got here, and when I first got here, the older guys on the team came through and made sure we did that and I think now if we can keep doing it then that’s how the program keeps getting better and better.”

Entering his fourth year in the program with two seasons of eligibility, Tsukada has started at least 40 games each year since the COVID-19 pandemic ended the 2020 season prematurely.

Portland was 12-4 and Tsukada had appeared in half of those games and made four starts when players were sent home in March 2020.

Tsukada won a state championship to finish his senior season at Punahou before moving on to college and never imagined he’d be back home for an extended amount of time so soon.

He found himself training in the middle of baseball season with a bunch of his former teammates stuck in the same situation.

“It was cool, though. You got to learn all of the different things that each program chooses to focus on, and I think that was a good experience for me,” Tsukada said about their shared experiences. “I went home for seven months and it gave me time to work on all of the things that I struggled with my freshman season.”

It made a difference on the field, as Tsukada started every game during his first full season of college and hit .282 with six doubles and 20 RBIs.

Last season, he hit .274 and nearly doubled his scoring output with 36 runs scored. The Pilots notched only the fourth 30-win season in program history and defeated Loyola Marymount in the conference tournament before falling to No. 1 seed Gonzaga.

With the goal to somehow improve on that season, Tsukada will go after it with a key ally by his side.

His younger brother, Justin, is a true freshman for the Pilots, following in the footsteps of his brother.

Just don’t tell him that.

“He always wanted to make his own path, but he came on a visit and the coaches told him that even if his brother wasn’t here, they would have still recruited him,” Jake said. “He loved the campus and the school and everything about it, but when they told him that, that kind of pushed him over the edge to come here.”

The three-year age gap between the two is just big enough that they didn’t always play the same level of baseball at the same time.

But even Jake admitted seeing his young brother in the same college uniform has enhanced their relationship that has been close from Day 1.

“It’s so awesome. I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world,” Jake said. “The best part is I always knew him as my brother, but now I get to view him as a teammate and as a friend. Our relationship has really grown and it’s awesome having him up here with me.”

Portland opened the season winning three of four against Utah Tech over the weekend.

Jake Tsukada hit .385 (5-for-13) with a double, three runs scored and five RBIs in the series but found himself in unfamiliar territory.

During the offseason, he participated in a long-toss program with the pitching staff that is unusual for a position player to be involved in.

In Tsukada’s case, he needed to build up his arm strength as he prepared to make the move from second base to third base.

Three of his four starts against Utah Tech were at the hot corner.

“I had been playing second base my whole career, so it was different,” Tsukada said. “The arm strength is really important, so I had a whole offseason program to strengthen my throwing arm.”

Tsukada is one of 35 players who graduated from high school in Hawaii currently listed on a mainland Division I roster.

The Tsukadas are the only brother duo to play for the same team, but not the only duo in college.

Another Punahou alum, Kalae Harrison, transferred to N.C. State from Texas A&M in the offseason. His younger brother, KaiKea, is a true freshman at Southern Cal.

Justin Tsukada is one of 17 freshmen in a highly touted Class of 2022 from Hawaii to begin their first year of college baseball.

Five of them are already starters and another made his pitching debut in relief.

Other notable transfers include Kamehameha alum Javyn Pimental to Missouri from Arizona and 2023 MLB draft prospect Maui Ahuna to Tennessee from Kansas.

The 2020 Hilo High alumnus did not play for the Volunteers over the weekend because he is still ineligible according to the NCAA.

Former University of Hawaii players Matt Aribal (Pearl City) is now at Austin Peay, Safea Mauai (Waiakea) is at Brigham Young and Konnor Palmeira (Kamehameha-Maui) is at Cal State Bakersfield.

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Jake Tsukada

>> School: Portland

>> Class: Junior

>> Height: 5 feet 9

>> Position: INF

>> High school: Punahou (2019)

CAREER STATISTICS

YEAR GP-GS AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI AVG.

2020 8-4 15 3 3 0 0 1 1 .200

2021 48-48 181 19 51 6 1 0 20 .282

2022 52-44 179 36 49 7 0 0 20 .274

2023 4-4 13 3 5 1 0 0 5 .385

TOT. 113-100 388 61 108 14 1 1 46 .278

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HAWAII GROWN: BASEBALL

Thirty-five Hawaii high school graduates are currently on mainland Division I rosters:

Name College Ht. Cl. Pos. High school

Maui Ahuna Tennessee 6-1 Jr. INF Hilo

Wehiwa Aloy Sacramento St. 6-1 Fr. INF Baldwin

Luke Alwood Seattle 6-4 Fr. RHP Maui

Matt Aribal Austin Peay 5-8 Sr. INF Pearl City

Aiva Arquette Washington 6-4 Fr. INF Saint Louis

Nu’u Contrades Arizona St. 5-10 Fr. INF Saint Louis

Parker Grant Kansas 6-0 Fr. RHP Maryknoll

Jaxon Grossman Utah 6-3 Fr. RHP King Kekaulike

KaiKea Harrison Southern Cal 6-0 Fr. INF Punahou

Kalae Harrison N.C. State 5-11 Jr. INF Punahou

Jacob Hinderleider Davidson 6-2 Sr. INF ‘Iolani

Brayden Hiraki CSUN 5-11 Fr. LHP ‘Iolani

Mason Hirata Nevada 5-10 Fr. INF Waiakea

Hunter Hirayama St. Mary’s (Calif.) 5-9 So. INF Saint Louis

Jonah Hurney Virginia Tech 5-8 Sr. LHP Hawaii Prep

Cody Kashimoto St. Mary’s (Calif.) 5-6 Fr. INF Punahou

Shay Kubo Illinois St. 5-8 Jr. INF ‘Iolani

Dylan Kurahashi-Choy Foo Tarleton St. 6-1 Sr. INF Kailua

Xaige Lancaster New Mexico St. 6-2 Fr. INF Hilo

Caleb Lomavita Cal 5-11 So. C Saint Louis

Safea Mauai BYU 6-1 So. 1B/OF Waiakea

Matthew McConnell San Francisco 6-1 Sr. RHP Punahou

JT Navyac Cal St. Fullerton 6-0 Jr. INF Saint Louis

Draven Nushida Cal St. Fullerton 5-11 Fr. INF/OF Mid-Pacific

Keoni Painter BYU 5-11 Fr. LHP/OF KS-Maui

Konnor Palmeira CSU-Bakersfield 6-0 Jr. Util KS-Maui

Brock Perreira CSU-Bakersfield 6-0 So. C/1B Kaiser

Javyn Pimental Missouri 6-3 Jr. LHP Kamehameha

Kelena Sauer San Diego St. 6-3 Jr. LHP Kamehameha

Kodey Shojinaga Kansas 5-10 Fr. C/INF Mid-Pacific

Beau Sylvester Oklahoma St. 6-0 Fr. C/1B/OF Kamehameha

Trayden Tamiya Air Force 5-6 Sr. INF Waiakea

Jake Tsukada Portland 5-9 Jr. INF Punahou

Justin Tsukada Portland 5-8 Fr. INF Punahou

Ryson Ujimori UC San Diego 5-11 Fr. INF Aiea

BASEBALL

>> Nu’u Contrades, Saint Louis ’22: The Arizona State freshman earned the start on opening day at third base Friday for the Sun Devils. He started twice in ASU’s three-game sweep of San Diego State and went 2-for-6 with a run and an RBI.

>> Wehiwa Aloy, Baldwin ’22: The Sacramento State freshman started the first four games of the season at shortstop and hit .333 (5-for-15) with two doubles, three runs scored, two RBIs and a stolen base to help the Hornets win three of four over North Dakota State over the weekend.

>> Beau Sylvester, Kamehameha ’22: The Oklahoma State freshman started his first game for the Cowboys in left field on Saturday and went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer and two runs scored in an 11-9 loss to Vanderbilt. Sylvester started two of three games to open the season for OSU, which went 1-2 in the College Baseball Showdown in Arlington, Texas, with a win over Missouri and a loss to Arkansas.

>> Caleb Lomavita, Saint Louis ’21: The California sophomore catcher hit leadoff in the Bears’ season-opening 7-0 win over Houston on Friday and hit a solo homer, walked twice and scored three runs. Lomavita helped Cal win two of three against the Cougars and hit .429 (6-for-14) in the series with seven runs scored.

>> Kodey Shojinaga, Mid-Pacific ’22: The Kansas freshman second baseman singled and drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in a run in his first collegiate game — an 11-3 loss to Valparaiso on Saturday. Shojinaga made his first start in Sunday’s 6-4 series-clinching win over Valparaiso, hitting a two-run homer in the second inning.

>> Matt Aribal, Pearl City ’18: The Austin Peay senior second baseman, a transfer from Hawaii, went 4-for-4 with a double, two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base in his first game for the Governors — a 9-1 win over Illinois State on Saturday.

>> Shay Kubo, ‘Iolani ’19: The Illinois State junior infielder, a transfer from Northern Colorado, hit .333 (5-for-15) with two runs and four RBIs and played both first and second base to help the Redbirds win two of three against Illinois State over the weekend to open the season.

>> Brock Perreira, Kaiser ’21: The Cal State Bakersfield sophomore designated hitter cleared the bases with a three-run triple for his first extra-base hit in college and finished with four RBIs in an 8-1 win over St. Thomas in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday.

>> Safea Mauai, Waiakea ’20: The Brigham Young sophomore designated hitter started his first three games with the Cougars and was 4-for-14 with a double, a walk, a run scored and an RBI to help BYU win two of three at Louisiana Tech over the weekend.

>> Jacob Hinderleider, ‘Iolani ’19: The Davidson College senior shortstop hit a solo homer in a season-opening 4-3 victory against New Jersey Institute of Technology on Friday.

>> JT Navyac, Saint Louis ’20: The Cal State Fullerton junior started the first three games at shortstop and finished 2-for-10 with a walk, two RBIs and a run scored as the Titans lost two of three to Stanford over the weekend.

>> Kalae Harrison, Punahou ’20: The N.C. State junior second baseman, a Texas A&M transfer, started his first three games with the Wolfpack and went 3-for-11 with a double, a walk and two runs scored in a sweep of Wagner to open the season over the weekend.

>> Luke Alwood, Maui ’22: The Seattle freshman right-hander made his collegiate debut in a 6-3 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday. Alwood tossed a scoreless seventh inning and faced four batters. He allowed one hit and walked one.

>> Mason Hirata, Waiakea ’22: The Nevada freshman second baseman singled in his first collegiate at-bat after entering as a pinch hitter in a 5-4 loss to Abilene Christian in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday. Hirata made his first start in the nightcap and went 1-for-4 with a run scored in a 9-7 loss.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

>> Kale Spencer, Kamehameha-Maui ’22: The Long Island (N.Y.) freshman opposite hitter, already a captain for the Sharks, was named the national Co-Opposite Hitter of the Week by Off the Block on Monday. Spencer, who was also named the First Point/Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week, combined for 33 kills in wins over Fairleigh Dickinson and Saint Francis last week to start conference play 2-0. In a sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson, Spencer hit .680 with 17 kills in 25 swings without an error. He also had five digs and three block assists. Spencer is currently in Hawaii as the Sharks play the No. 1-ranked Rainbow Warriors at the Stan Sheriff Center tonight and Friday.

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Compiled by Billy Hull, Star-Advertiser. To submit an athlete for publication email: bhull@staradvertiser.com.