HONOLULU – The Rainbow Warriors 2026 season will be another year in which the mound is occupied by numerous fresh faces. A spring ago, a solid 'Bows staff that featured 20 arms ranked 18th nationally in ERA, finishing at 4.25. With eight pitchers returning after contributing to 15 wins in 2025, Hawai'i aims to continue the success past moundsmen have had under pitching coach Keith Zuniga.
 
With eleven new additions to the pitching staff, the corps gains a veteran mindset from arms who logged serious game experience at the JUCO level or prior to transferring to UH. "We're somewhat a new team, a new pitching staff, but an older veteran group at the same time," said Zuniga.
 
Isaiah Magdaleno highlights the list of returning pitchers, stepping into the role of Friday night starter. He will make his return as a starting pitcher after appearing in 24 games last season, all as a reliever. In those 24 relief appearances Mags threw 60 innings and recorded nine saves and held a 2.70 ERA, earning First-Team All-Big West. After 16 innings of work in the summer's Cape Cod league, Magdaleno is set for a promising spring.
 
"We are not changing who he is," said Zuniga as he works to get Magdaleno into starter shape. "But we altered his training regime to tailor it more to that of a starter."
 
The culture built within the group has been rooted in excellence, and entering year three, Zuniga eyes Sebastian Gonzalez and Liam O'Brien as key leaders, helping teach the new arms "how we do things around here." In three seasons as a 'Bow, Gonzalez has made his mark, posting a 1.48 ERA and going 3-0 in his eight relief appearances last year while also making 10 starts. As for O'Brien, an elite competitor, a season ago he held opponents to a .120 batting average in 52.0 innings of work.
 
The sparkplug of the staff is none other than 6-foot standing Zacary Tenn. Coming out of 'Iolani in 2022, Tenn was the No. 1-ranked pitcher in Hawai'i. As a redshirt freshman in 2024 he was lights out, appearing in 13 games and giving up just two runs. Entering 2026 he is as healthy as he's been and is poised to get back to that form from a few seasons ago.
 
The depth of this year's pitching staff is built around competitive strike throwers. Notable newcomers include experienced arms John Alkire II and Grant Garman, both have logged ample time on the bump. Alkire is "a fiery, whippy competitor… he's got a quick arm with multiple pitches for a strike," said Zuniga. Garman, though only a freshman, was Oakland's Friday night starter in 2025, starting 15 games with 72.8 innings pitched. Both bring strike-throwing ability and a high competitive makeup.
 
Tsubasa Tomii is a high-usage arm out of Tokyo, Japan. Last season he earned first-team ACCAC Division II All-Conference with Pima Community College. "He's going to be a guy who can throw two or three times a weekend," said Zuniga. "He's a competitor with multiple pitches in the strike zone."
 
Hekili Robello is an emerging arm who is competing for real innings after an academic redshirt a season ago, while freshman Brody Martin-Grudzielanek comes from a big league family and possesses "a high-octane arm that I think fans are going to enjoy to watch," Zuniga said.
 
Like last season, the pitching staff will be a puzzle, a puzzle that both head coach Rich Hill and Zuniga hope to solve.
 
"Getting the guys to understand how we're going to piece a lot of games together," Zuniga said. "Some of our best performances a year ago were on staff days, where everybody just needs to come in and do their job."
 
In Zuniga's words, it's a pitching staff built to be relentless.
 

RETURNEES	Notes	NEWCOMERS	Notes
Isaiah Magdaleno	RHP | 6-3 | 220 | Jr. -Preseason All-Big West; 5th nationally in K/BB ratio last year	John Alkire II	RHP | 6-3 | 180 | Sr. -2024 at Charleston Souther, 2025 at Texas State
Liam O'Brien	RHP | 6-5 | 215 | Sr. -.120 opponent batting average in 2025	Jack Berg	LHP | 6-4 | 210 | Jr. -5 appearances at Arizona in 2025
Sebastian Gonzalez	LHP | 5-10 | 185 | Jr. -3.89 career ERA in 88.0 innings	Grant Garman	LHP | 6-0 | 190 | So. -78.2 IP as a freshman at Oakland in 2025
Zacary Tenn	RHP | 6-0 | 200 | Jr. -30 career appearances in two seasons; 1.02 ERA in 2024	Ryan Inouye	RHP | 5-9 | 165 | Sr. -Career saves leader at Hawai'i Pacific with 20
Koen Barton	RHP | 6-6 | 240 | So. -5 relief appearances last year	Brody Martin-Grudzielanek	RHP | 6-5 | 200 | Fr. -No. 40 RHP in California
Bobby Perebzak	LHP | 5-11 | 205 | Jr. -Redshirted in 2025	Caleb Okada	LHP | 5-11 | 190 | Jr. -2 saves, 3.73 ERA at Santa Rosa JC
Josiah Shipley	RHP | 6-4 | 230 | Jr. -Redshirted in 2025	Hekili Robello	RHP | 6-5 | 220 | Jr. -19-5, 151 Ks at Santa Rosa JC
Dylan Waite	LHP | 6-2 | 205 | Sr. -1.86 career ERA in 14 appearances	Saul Soto	RHP | 6-4 | 245 | Sr. -47 career app., 90 Ks, in 103.1 IP at New Mexico State
		Tsubasa Tomii	RHP | 5-6 | 170 | Jr. -Two years of JUCO; played in Cape Cod League
		Bryson Toner	RHP | 6-3 | 190 | Fr. -No. 3 RHP in Hawai'i in Class of 2025
		Derek Valdez	LHP | 6-5 | 225 | Jr. -12-3, 1.63 ERA in two years of JUCO ball