With the 2020 season cut short and the NCAA waiving roster sizes for baseball for the first time in years, Hawaii baseball head coach Mike Trapasso brought in 12 new players, pushing his fall roster to 38 student-athletes.
 
The 38 student-athletes span over nine states with 20 local players from five different Hawaiian Islands.
 
Seven of the 12 newcomers are incoming freshmen, many of which didn't see competition for their high schools this past spring. Four of the five transfers come from the junior college ranks and the fifth transfer comes from Hawaii-Hilo.
 
The twelve newcomers are, Nainoa Cardinez, Ashton Goddard, Cameron Hagan, Michael Hughes, Jake Hymel, Jacob Igawa, Konnor Palmeira, Jared Quandt, Dalton Renne, Kenji Suzuki, Austin Teixeira and Safea Villaruz-Mauai.

 

2021 NEWCOMERS

NAINOA CARDINEZ

Catcher / Utility - Kapa'a, Kaua'i - Kapa'a HS

The utility man from Kaua'i, Cardinez will trade in one forest green hat for another as the Kapa'a grad brings three ScoringLive All-State second team selections to Manoa.

ASHTON GODDARD

Right-handed pitcher - Laguna Beach, Calif.. - Saddleback College

The righty played two seasons at Saddleback after redshirting for Utah in 2018. Goddard threw 34.0 total innings over two years with 30 total strikeouts.

CAMERON HAGAN

Right-handed pitcher - Salem, Ore. - Chemeketa CC

The 6-7 righty from the Pacific Northwest is one of two Chemeketa Storm baseball players to come to Manoa in 2020-21. Hagan threw in 51.2 innings and accumulated 39 strikeouts in 13 appearances in 2019. Hagan also played basketball for the Storm and played in the Wild Wild West League in Oregon this summer, the same league that sophomore Aaron Davenport played in.

MICHAEL HUGHES

Left-handed pitcher / Outfielder - Waikaloa, Hawai'i - Hawai'i Prep Academy

From the baseball-rich Big Island, Hughes attended school on the opposite side of the island from the baseball powers of Waiakea and Kamehameha-Hawai'i, but the lefty guided Ka Makani to a run in the D-II state tournament as a junior. Hughes also played basketball.

MORE: From dream to reality ... Strong pitching staff

JAKE HYMEL

Right-handed pitcher - Cypress, Texas - San Jacinto College

The son of 1991 CWS Most Outstanding Player, LSU Tiger Gary Hymel, the San Jacinto CC transfer did not allow a run in six appearances in 2020, striking out 16 batters in 9.1 innings pitched. Hymel, a 2019 Cypress Ranch graduate reunites with prep teammate Scotty Scott.

JACOB IGAWA

Catcher/Utility - Hilo, Hawai'i. - Hawaii-Hilo

Igawa makes his way to his third school in three years and to one where he did damage against on Hawai'i's opening night, going 3-4 with a home run and two doubles. Igawa hit .244 for the Vulcans in 2020, starting all 12 games for Hilo.

KONNOR PALMEIRA

Catcher / Utility - Kahului, Maui - Kamehameha-Maui

Ranked 81st in the country among 2020 catchers by Perfect Game, Palmeira is the 8th-best ranked recruit in the 2020 class by the publication. The catcher hit over .400 as a junior for KS-Maui and was named Star Advertiser All-State honorable mention in 2019.

JARED QUANDT

Catcher - Los Gatos, Calif. - Los Gatos HS

THE PLAYER: A 6-1 junior college transfer, Gil is coming off a freshman campaign where he pitched 69.1 innings in 14 games for the Wolverines with 80 strikeouts and a 3.50 ERA. The Fair Oaks-native polished off his year with seven wins and a season-high 11 strikeouts in a win against Folsom Lake. Gil and Sierra finished third in the Big-8 conference of the CCCBCA.

SCOUTING REPORT: "Ryan has the potential to be a front line starter. A lefty that combines plus-stuff with pitchability." - Trapasso

DALTON RENNE

Right-handed pitcher - Banks, Ore. - Chemeketa CC

A two-sport athlete at Chemeketa, and a teammate of fellow newcomer Cameron Hagan, Renne pitched in 11 games, all as a freshman in 2019, posting a 3.47 ERA in 23.1 innings. Recorded a triple-double on Sophomore Night in 2020 for the Storm men's basketball team.

KENJI SUZUKI

Shortstop - Seattle, Wash. - Eastside Catholic HS

The 2020 all-state first team selection won two league titles for Eastside Catholic in 2017 and 2018. Suzuki was one of the top shortstop recruits in the country after hitting .430 as a junior, .303 as a sophomore and .276 as a freshman.

AUSTIN TEIXEIRA

Left-handed pitcher / Outfielder - Waimanalo, O'ahu - Saint Louis HS

THE PLAYER: Named a 2019 All-State third team selection, Teixeira was a pivotal arm in the rotation for the Crusaders as a junior in 2019 while also producing at the plate. After hitting .377 as a junior with 19 RBI and eight extra-base hits, the pitcher/outfielder was named All-ILH first team. The lefty also threw 15.1 innings with 14 strikeouts and a 5.49 ERA.
 

SAFEA VILLARUZ-MAUAI

First baseman - Hilo, Hawai'i - Waiakea HS

Villaruz-Mauai left an impact at Waiakea HS, hitting .417 as a junior and .345 as a sophomore. The first baseman ranked as the 27th best recruit in the country at the position by Perfect Game and joins fellow Waiakea HS grad, Stone Miyao, in Manoa.

More: Waiakea-Manoa pipeline