Punahou shortstop Nolan Souza has next-level talent

Nolan Souza is more than a jack of all trades.

He is becoming a master of almost everything he touches. The Punahou senior is something of a unicorn on the diamond, a left-handed hitting shortstop who throws right, runs the bases at an elite level and has next-level size at 6 feet, 3 inches and 215 pounds.

ProspectsLive.com rated Souza in its 2023 MLB Draft/Top 100 high school prospects list at No. 52.

“Nolan Souza is the rare premium prospect coming out of Hawaii. He’s got a buttery smooth swing with elite-level hip separation, suggesting he’s going to age into serious game power,” ProspectsLive.com wrote.

As of the summer of 2022, the metrics are bombastic to baseball nerds: 6.51 seconds in the 60-yard dash (98.65 percentile), 1.56 in the 10-yard split (93.34 percentile), 89 mph IF velo (infield throw velocity, 96.07 percentile) and 86 mph exit velo. The stats listed by Perfect Game also include +4.18 mph max barrel speed, +1.68 impact momentum and +6.31 max acceleration.

Hawaii coaches have seen plenty of the explosive, composed and consistent play of Souza. Mid-Pacific coach Dunn Muramaru knows next-level talent well. Former Owls shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa is entering his sixth season of MLB.

“He’s a physical specimen. He runs the bases really well. That’s unusual for someone of his size,” Muramaru said, recalling the first time he saw Souza play. “It’s instincts, being aware of the game. Situational stuff.”

Saint Louis coach George Gusman saw Souza play as an eighth grader.

“He was playing American Legion and he was already quite impressive. He was good sized, pretty athletic and he could compete even at that young age against players much older than he was,” Gusman said. “He swung from the left side. Fast-forward to today, he’s big, strong, super fast and hits for average and power. He can literally play any position. He’s that good.”

“The first time I saw him play was when he was 10 or 11 years old in the Manoa Youth Baseball League. He played on a ton of our rival teams, a big kid, very versatile player. He played all over the field,” said Kamehameha coach Daryl Kitagawa, who coached at Manoa for 15 years. “He is a very physical player with a prototypical pro-type body. He’s got some pop as a hitter, he can run. He has a bright future in this game and I wish him the very best.”

Combined with a relentless work ethic — he is in the family’s home gym working out seven days per week and has a 3.65 grade-point average — Souza even developed a nice culinary skill set. Whether he’s in the dorms at Arkansas or starting in the minor leagues, Souza can always make some chicken katsu and chocolate chip cookies. He learned to make the former from his father, former Hawaii pitcher Brian Souza, and the latter from his mother, Kellie.

It was during the pandemic when Souza’s diet became fortified with iron, pumping weights and adding strength to his growing frame. Arkansas made its scholarship offer two years ago, even though Souza hadn’t played a varsity game yet because of statewide restrictions in prep sports. The Razorbacks were ranked No. 4 in the Perfect Game preseason rankings and seventh in Collegiate Baseball’s Fabulous 50.

“I feel like it’s becoming more and more of a reality. I’ve been committed for a long time. (In 2021) I wasn’t going to be there for a couple of years. Now it’s a few months away depending on the draft,” Souza said. “Everything is coming into place. I’m just happy to be at this point. I’m excited to go there, getting a little bit of fan mail. The coaches and people there are also excited for me to be coming.”

Last summer, Souza and his mother drove from Ohio to Indiana for baseball.

“My mom likes C&K (Cecilio and Kapono). We went on a really long drive and she put that on,” Souza recalled.

Once he got home, Souza was back at the grind. He believes in repetition, but adding power requires more. Since National Letter of Intent signing day in November, he has added 5 pounds of muscle.

“I’m a believer in lifting heavy without hurting myself. You’re not going to get stronger without heavier weights. I’ll build up and I won’t go higher unless I can do six reps,” Souza said.

His current max on the bench press is 315 pounds. He has a max squat of 425 pounds and a max dead lift of 630.

“I can go heavier (on the squat), but I like to train full depth,” Souza said.

The workouts, rigors of traveling and constant attention to detail have been a lifestyle for the Souza ohana. It is enough to drive a young man to take up a new hobby.

“After the game, I got a quick workout in, went with my friends to the driving range. The sun’s finally out again,” he said on Saturday. “Me and my friends are going golfing in the morning, then a birthday party. Normally, I’d have a lot of workouts, but we’ve been playing a lot of games.”

The Buffanblu swept Kaiser in a weekend series. Punahou’s deep well of talent is on the more youthful side this season.

“In the beginning of the season, it was different because we lost most of our starting lineup, but I’m loving it. These are basically my friends I’ve played with for life,” Souza said.

Last year, he batted .358 with 12 runs, eight stolen bases and six RBIs in 18 ILH games. He had an on-base percentage of .433 with a slugging percentage of .528.

Punahou is ranked No. 8 in the Star-Advertiser Baseball Top 10 and will play ‘Iolani today at Ala Wai Field. Souza has embraced his role as a senior leader while trying his best to have a balanced life off the field. The graduation clock is ticking, ticking, ticking.

“It’s my last year on the island. I’m enjoying this last year at Punahou and winning as much as we can, too,” he said.

It’ll be a long trip from HNL (Honolulu) to XNA (Northwest Arkansas National Airport), followed by a 23-mile ride to campus. After 15 years of nonstop baseball, Brian and Kellie Souza will mostly watch Nolan from afar.

“I remember Nolan having lots of fun hitting the ball off the tee. He smiled the whole game,” she recalled.

Nolan Souza was 3 when he began to swing the stick.

“He was just there to have fun with his friends,” Brian said.

Being coachable started at home, whether it was cooking or baseball.

“He has always been a good kid and makes parenting pretty easy,” Kellie said. “He is respectful, responsible, caring, loving and trustworthy. He always warms my heart with his smile.”

Brian Souza began his college career pitching for Washington. After Tommy John surgery, he played at UH and spent some time in the minor leagues. As a father and coach, he instilled discipline into Nolan along the way.

“He has a willingness to watch and learn from top players. His maturity kicked in during COVID when he had to work out on his own. He works hard, is responsible and stays out of trouble,” he said.

Even with all the work and sweat, Nolan Souza wonders if he has done enough.

“I would go back in time and make myself work harder when I was little. It was good that I got to have fun and do other things, but when I was little, I didn’t understand what baseball is like now. Especially the last couple of summers, I’ve gone up to the mainland and seen how advanced players are,” he said. “I can keep up with them, but I could’ve been even better.”

NOLAN SOUZA

Punahou baseball, 6-3, 215, Senior

Gear

>> Bats: MaxBat MM9 (33.5-30.5), Baum Bat 33.5-30.5, Victus Nox 34-31

>> Glove: Rawlings Heart of the Hide

>> Batting glove: Bruce Bolt

>> Cleats: Nike Alpha Hurache Elite 3

>> Top 3 movies/shows: 1. “The Challenge. 2. “The Sandlot.” 3. MLB and college baseball. “I always watch (‘The Challenge’) with my mom and dad. I would do it if I had the time.”

>> Top 3 food/snacks/drinks: 1. CPK (barbecue chicken pizza with bacon), 2. Zippy’s (Korean chicken), 3. Raising Cane’s

>> Top 3 homemade foods: 1. Dad’s teri beef, 2. Dad’s chicken katsu, 3. Mom’s chocolate chip cookies. “I can make the katsu and the cookies.”

>> Top 3 music artists: 1. Morgan Wallen, 2. Lil Baby, 3. Cecilio & Kapono. “My mom likes their music,” Souza said, referring to Cecilio & Kapono. “We went on a really long drive over the summer from Ohio to Indiana and she put that on.”

>> Favorite class: Biography/Geography of Hawaii. “We learned a lot about the state and we had a lot of field trips. It’s also where I met my girlfriend.”

>> Favorite athlete: Corey Seager (Texas Rangers). “I met him when he came down for a Dodgers camp in Hawaii. Nice and humble, yet a great player. He’s around my height and weight. A lot of people view me like a bigger shortstop and he’s so successful. And a big left-handed bat and that’s where I am.”

>> Funniest teammate: Hunter Nishina. “He’s always making everybody laugh. He lightens the mood.”

>> Smartest teammate: “There’s a lot of smart people on our team.”

>> GPA: 3.65. “I think if I didn’t play sports it would be easier. You come to school tired, miss class because of games, and over the weekend it would be easier to get ahead, but it’s filled with sports and things.”

>> Time machine. “I would kind of go back in time and make myself work harder when I was little. It was good that I got to have fun and do other things, but when I was little I didn’t understand what baseball is like now. Especially the last couple of summers I’ve gone up to the mainland, seen how advanced players are. I can keep up with them, but I’d be even better.”

>> New life skill: Cooking

>> Bucket list: “If I make it to the big leagues, I want to play in all the stadiums. One day I want to go to Europe. Definitely so different from what we know in Hawaii. See more of the world.”

>> Youth sports: “My first sport was soccer. After that it was baseball, basketball and flag football, too. I played for the Hawaii Kai Marlins. My dad was one of the coaches. I was 3. I was ambidextrous and my dad made me a righty to throw and he always made me hit from the left.”

>> Shout outs: “Shout out both my parents (Brian and Kellie). They guided me through everything in life. It means so much that they did that much for me. Shout out to all my friends for supporting me along my journey and making everything fun. All my coaches for helping me with all that they have and making my baseball experiences fun. My grandparents (Claire and Glenn Okasaki, Howell and Patricia Souza) for coming to so many games and making my childhood fun. My girlfriend for being a great supporter. It means a lot.”