Despite a valiant effort, the University of Hawai‘i softball team's run in the inaugural Big West Conference Tournament came to an end on Friday night with an 8-1 loss to UC Santa Barbara.
The Rainbow Wahine opened the week with a 10-8 win over Long Beach State on Wednesday, the preseason pick to win the conference. On Thursday, the 'Bows defeated top seed and host Cal State Fullerton 11-5.
On Friday, the 'Bows lost 4-3 to Cal State Northridge in the winner's bracket game before exiting the double-elimination tournament with the loss to UCSB.
Hawai‘i's 2025 season came to an end at 33-20 overall. The loss also marked the end of the Bob Coolen era. Coolen had entered the season knowing the 2025 season would be his last.
"We were 2-0 in the inaugural tournament and today was not our lucky day," Coolen said after the Santa Barbara loss. "We played well in the first game. ... This last game escaped us and that's it. The final game of my career. No more worrying about game setups or anything and just looking forward to settling into retirement."
While Coolen remained stoic following the game, as well as in the postgame press conference, many of the team's players were in tears following the end of a campaign that had postseason hopes.
"It's been such an honor to represent this state," catcher Izabella Martinez said in a tearful press conference.
Coolen had advocated for the Big West Tournament since taking the UH job in 1991. He explained that the concept of the tournament gave his team something to play for the entire year rather than losing hope after missing out on the regular season title.
Coolen said he received a call about the team's facility getting flooded on Friday, but now that he's no longer the coach, he doesn't have to worry about things like that anymore.
"Our new lounge, our new facility went under water, and I don't have to worry about that stuff because I am out," he said.
With Coolen's contract set to expire on May 31, he publicly endorsed assistant coach Deirdre Wisneski for the job. Coolen compared his relationship with Wisneski to his relationship with former UH coach Rayla Allison, who brought in Coolen as an assistant coach 36 years ago.
"I met (Wisneski) when she was 16. I hope she gets the job. Rayla believed in me, I believe in Dee and (assistant coach) Kaulana (Gould). Hopefully they are the next coaches at the University of Hawai‘i," Coolen said.
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
