This week, the clock runs out on the University of Hawaii’s 2024-25 academic year.
There are final exams through Friday, and the commencement ceremonies on Saturday. Even though most of UH’s spring-semester sports have completed their seasons, there still is more work to be done, such as:
>> All but two of the 11 of the Big West baseball teams will end their regular season by Saturday night. Because of UH’s graduation ceremonies, the Rainbow Warriors have been granted an exemption to play UC San Diego in the finale of a three-game series on Sunday at Les Murakami Stadium.
That could set up a dramatic finish to the chase for berths in the five-team Big West Championship tournament in Fullerton, Calif. UH, UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego are in a fourth-place tie with 14-13 records. Long Beach State completed the regular season at 15-15. The ’Bows probably would need to win two of three against UCSD to secure a tournament berth. If the ’Bows were to win all three and first-place UC Irvine sweeps No. 3 Cal State Fullerton, they would earn the third seed. By winning two of three against CSUF this past weekend, the ’Bows own the tie-breaker over the Titans. The top three seeds earn opening-round byes. This week’s UH-UCSD series is the most meaningful at Les Murakami Stadium in the ’Bows’ 13 seasons of Big West membership.
>> The UH football team entered the recently closed transfer-portal window with a specific to-do list.
They reloaded the defensive line; found replacements for offensive tackle Ka‘ena Decambra, who transferred to Arizona, and center Sergio Muasau, who retired; and after cornerback Caleb Brown entered the portal, signed speedy transfers Semaj “Jet” James (Troy), Zion Allen (Southern Utah, BYU) and Ben Drake (Sierra Community College). The Warriors also added a punter and long-snapper.
The Warriors are seeking to sign a quarterback and two more offensive linemen. Jarret “JJ” Nielsen, a two-sport player who joined in January, has retired from football. He is seeking to play baseball at another school. Nielsen and Luke Weaver split the No. 2 snaps in spring ball. Micah Alejado, Weaver and Caleb Freeman are the only three quarterbacks on the summer roster.
The Warriors are scheduled to begin the summer training program on May 26 under new strength/conditioning coordinator Bobby Thomas. Thomas has worked with several college programs, as well as with the Atlanta Falcons.
>> While navigating the new landscape of the transfer portal and name-image-likeness negotiations last year, the UH basketball team had signed only two transfers by the first week of May 2024. By the same time this year, the Rainbow Warriors signed seven transfers, including 7-foot Isaac “Big Fish” Johnson (Utah State); 6-8 wing Isaac Finlinson (Snow College), the junior college player of the year; and Quandre “Dre” Bullock (South Dakota), a 6-6 wing with a 46-inch vertical jump.
The ’Bows signed guards and wings with size and deep shooting range to complement incumbent point guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor.
The coaches have aggressively sought another frontcourt player to fill out the recruiting class. But with eight commitments, the ’Bows already are ahead of last year’s recruiting, when some newcomers did not join until August. And there still is a possibility of 6-8 Gytis Nemeiksa, last season’s leading scorer, being in play.
Nemeiksa has tried to make use of an exemption that grants an extra season to a senior student-athlete who played in a non-NCAA league prior to joining an NCAA team. Most of the exemptions are granted to players who competed for a junior college. Nemeiksa, a 6-8 forward from Lithuania, argued that his pre-Xavier experience was at Vytautus Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania, and as an amateur with Zalgiris Kaunas II club.
The NCAA rejected Nemeiksa’s initial argument. But he was told a prerequisite to appealing would be to enter the transfer portal. If his appeal is approved, Nemeiksa could return to UH, transfer or play overseas.
UH’s next step is to build a 2024-25 schedule. Most schools are working to build their rosters and navigate the portal before addressing scheduling.
>> As the search for the next athletic director progresses, UH is nearing completion of the process in hiring a successor to softball coach Bob Coolen. Interim athletic director Lois Manin and associate athletic director Vince Baldemor, who is the softball administrator, have conducted interviews with candidates.
The NCAA’s transfer portal for softball opens on Sunday.
