The University of Hawai‘i baseball team ended its 2024 campaign as one of the hottest teams in the country, winning 16 of its last 17 games.
Despite its record of 37-16 overall and 20-10 in the Big West, the Rainbow Warriors were denied an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. Hawai‘i finished third in the conference standings, losing all six of its games against UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine, the top two teams in the Big West.
UH also split a winnable opening series against Ole Miss and lost its following series against North Carolina State. When Selection Sunday arrived in late May, the Rainbow Warriors had an RPI of 73, finishing shy of the target of 40 or below that teams hoping to make an NCAA regional strive for.
Although the Big West is introducing a conference tournament for the first time in 2025, nonconference games for a team with postseason hopes like the 'Bows will hold weight. The importance of stacking wins early is something head coach Rich Hill is cognizant of heading into the team's season-opening series against Marshall, which begins on Friday at 6:35 p.m. at Les Murakami Stadium.
"The schedule is built very strategically," Hill said. "The RPI, as much as they want to say it's not a factor, it's a huge factor in that room deciding those at-large teams. ... We know the Big West is pretty intense in every single game. Every game is very difficult. It's a strategic type of thing.
"I think it's going to prepare us with the all these great opponents in the nonconference for a very difficult Big West slate, as well as put us in a good position with the RPI."
All four of UH's nonconference series will take place at Les Murakami Stadium, which features a field that recently received a $2 million turf upgrade. The Rainbow Warriors have proven to be a tough out at home, carrying a home winning streak of 11 into the season.
Since taking over prior to the 2022 season, Hill's Hawai‘i teams have improved each year, jumping from 28 wins in 2022 to 29 in 2023 and nearly reaching the postseason in 2024.
In 2025, the Rainbow Warriors return a handful of impact players, including preseason All-Big West shortstop Jordan Donahue.
On the mound, Sebastian Gonzalez is set to make the opening night start. The southpaw took over the Friday night role as a freshman but only made two starts in 2024, getting shut down due to tendinitis in his left elbow.
"We have some good guys," Gonzalez says of a pitching staff that boasts 15 arms that were clocked at 90 miles per hour or higher. "We have some good relievers, some good starters. ... I have all the confidence in the world in what these guys can do. I've seen what they've done all fall, so I'm excited to see what they can do."
Also returning to the UH lineup in 2025 is a pair of 'Bows in Itsuki Takemoto and Ben Zeigler-Namoa that were both named Cape Cod League All-Stars in 2024, college baseball's premier summer league. Takemoto is set to start as the designated hitter on days he's not pitching, while Ziegler-Namoa will also take on a utility role after pitching for UH in 2023 and playing multiple positions on the field in 2024.
Kamehameha alumnus Elijah Ickes returns for his sophomore season after starting all 53 games in 2024, joining returning center fielder Matthew Miura as the only other 'Bow to do so. Ickes hit .280 as a freshman after making the decision to go to college despite getting picked by the Texas Rangers in the 2023 MLB Draft.
"I'd say we're all ready to roll. We're all excited to finally get back out there," Ickes said of UH's 2025 outlook. "With how we finished last year, I'd say it was just the start of what we have. We're all eager to just show what we have. We have the Big West tournament too, so we're all looking forward to that, and just being able to get to the next step."
For a program that hasn't reached the postseason since 2010, the overwhelming sentiment among the team is that the 2025 'Bows are the team that can break the drought.
"I think there's a lot of hope. We got a lot of work that we can do, but I think that there's a very, very big chance that we go all the way, and I believe that we do go all the way," Gonzalez said. "I've seen what this team can do. ... It's going to be a fun show to watch every night, every weekend, to come out here and watch, and you guys will see plenty of it. We got guys that can hit for power. We got guys that can hit for average. We got pitchers that can throw 98 (MPH) we got guys that can throw 92 and and go long innings. So, I think we're going to be the best team in the Big West."
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
