The University of Hawai‘i has unveiled its full class for the 2025 Sports Circle of Honor.
Five new members of the class will be officially inducted on May 18 at the Royal Hawaiian Resort.
The 2025 class includes five figures serving UH in five different roles: A trio of former All-Americans in Kelly Majam (softball), Kolten Wong (baseball), and Chad Owens (football), as well as UH volleyball analyst Chris McLachlin and former UH softball assistant coach John Nakamura.
Nakamura, a former UH baseball player, was on the softball coaching staff at Mānoa for 25 seasons.
Nakamura is the only late member of the class, while the rest of the four inductees were all informed in separate surprise videos made by the UH Athletics department.
McLachlin has been calling games as a color analyst for both UH volleyball teams since 1982, calling over 1,000 matches. He started off alongside fellow Circle of Honor inductee Jim Leahey. He spent 37 years as a coach, administrator and counselor at his alma mater, Punahou, leading the Buffanblu to three state titles in boys basketball and 11 in boys volleyball. His most notable former player is former United States president Barack Obama.
Majam, who played for the Rainbow Wahine softball team from 2010 to 2013, is the program's all-time leader in home runs (72), runs (235) and walks (159). As a freshman, she belted 30 home runs, leading the country despite playing through a thyroid cancer diagnosis. She was a key member of the 2010 team that went to the College World Series and was inducted into the Circle of Honor in 2024.
Owens, who joined the UH football program as a walk-on out of Roosevelt High School, made the most out of his opportunities after redshirting as a true freshman. He remains UH's all-purpose yards career leader with 5,461. After a brief stint in the NFL, he found his niche in Canada, where he was named a CFL Hall of Famer in 2024 after a stored nine-year career in the Great White North.
Wong is widely considered the greatest hitter in UH baseball history, racking up a bevy of honors from 2009 to 2011 before getting selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round of the 2011 MLB Draft. He spent 11 years in the Major Leagues, most recently with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023.
In 2017, Wong became the first position player and third person overall to have his jersey retired by the UH baseball program.
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
