For fans of collegiate diamond sports, the most eventful time of the year is underway.
The Women's College World Series begins on Thursday in Oklahoma City, while NCAA Regionals for baseball begins across the country on Friday.
Although the University of Hawai‘i softball and baseball teams were eliminated from their respective conference tournaments, dozens of players with local ties will compete this weekend in both tournaments.
In the Women's College World Series, four-time defending national champion Oklahoma features a pair of players from O‘ahu. Maryknoll alumna and Waianae native Nelly McEnroe-Marinas is the starting third baseman for the Sooners, hitting .348 with 15 home runs. Meanwhile, starting at second base for Oklahoma is Ailana Agbayani, an ‘Iolani alum who is hitting .336 with four home runs. On Wednesday, Agbayani was named the NFCA Gold Glove winner at second base.
Oklahoma, the national 2 seed and highest remaining seed after No. 1 Texas A&M was previously eliminated, opens against No. 7 Tennessee on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. HST. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
The 64-team NCAA Division I baseball tournament begins on Friday, with 32 regional openers scattered across the Mainland.
National No. 1 Vanderbilt features former Kamehameha catcher and Honolulu Little League star Aukai Kea, although he has yet to appear in a game as a true freshman for the Commodores.
No. 3 Arkansas features three players with Hawai‘i on its roster. Brothers Wehiwa and Kuhio Aloy, both Baldwin alums, have combined for 31 home runs and 127 RBI as key members of the Arkansas lineup. Meanwhile, Punahou alum Nolan Souza started 28 games for the Razorbacks before suffering a season-ending injury.
No. 8 Oregon State is led by star shortstop Aiva Arquette, a Saint Louis alumnus who is projected to be a first round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, along with Wehiwa Aloy. The Beavers will open play against Saint Mary's, which has a pair of players from Hawai‘i in their roster in second baseman Cody Kashimoto (Punahou) and Saint Louis alum Hunter Hirayama.
No. 12 Oregon is hosting the Eugene regional. The Ducks are coached by Mark Wasikowski, who began his collegiate playing career at Hawai‘i before eventually finishing at Pepperdine. Oregon opens against Utah Valley, which has Kamehameha-Hawai‘i alumnus Liwai Correa on its roster. Also in the Eugene regional is Cal Poly, which won the Big West Tournament after eliminating Hawai‘i. Cal Poly's backup catcher is Mid-Pacific alumnus Mackenzee Higuchi, who began his collegiate career at Hawai‘i Pacific.
No. 15 UCLA has Kamehameha alumnus Kaena Kiakona on its roster. The Bruins are hosting the Los Angeles regional, which features Arizona State standout Nu‘u Contrades, another MLB Draft prospect from Saint Louis.
Kansas State, which is in the Austin regional, has a pair of players on its roster from a Hawai‘i high school: Mid-Pacific's Chandler Murray and Kamehameha-Hawai‘i's Jonah Reich.
Oklahoma State, the 3 seed in the Athens regional, features former Kamehameha standout Beau Sylvester. OSU's pitching staff is led by former University of Hawai‘i southpaw Harrison Bodendorf, who transferred following the 2024 season.
The Hattiesburg regional, hosted by No. 16 Southern Mississippi, features Miami, which also has another UH pitcher on the roster in Alex Giroux.
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
