It’s no coincidence that Hawai‘i has seen an offensive explosion over the past four seasons as Keith Komeiji has taken UH’s success at the plate to a new level.
In 2009, the Rainbows showed a prowess for the long ball, breaking the school record with 64 home runs as a team. Along with the team record, three players, Kevin Macdonald, Vinnie Catricala and Kolten Wong, all finished in the top 10 in school history for homers in a single-season.
During his first three seasons as the hitting coach, UH had the three highest team-batting averages under Trapasso, batting .297 in 2006, .305 in ’07 and .288 in ’08.
Along with the high marks as a team, Komeiji has overseen 19 players who have carried a batting average over .300 in those four seasons, including Brandon Haislet batting .389 and Jon Hee batting .368 in 2008, Kris Sanchez’ .362 batting average in 2007 and Justin Frash’s .359 batting average in 2006.
Under the tutelage of Komeiji, Sanchez and Haislet posted two of the greatest offensive seasons in UH baseball history. Sanchez had a .362 batting average with 10 home runs, 66 RBI and 23 doubles, all ranking in the top 10 in school history, in 2007. Haislet then followed with a .389 batting average in 2008, leading the team with 50 RBI, 52 runs, 22 doubles, seven home runs and 11 stolen bases.
Along with his duties as the hitting coach, Komeiji continues to work with the team’s catchers. Primarily working with the catchers from 2002-05, Komeiji helped two UH catchers, Grady Symonds (39th round, 2002) and Brian Bock (14th round, 2003) get drafted. He has also coached two all-WAC catchers in Esteban Lopez (second team, 2005), who went on to get drafted in the 25th round of the 2006 draft, and Landon Hernandez (second team, 2008). Matt Inouye, who also spent time as a catcher in his career under Komeiji’s tutelage, was taken in the 21st round of the 2006 draft.
Komeiji has also been instrumental in UH’s work on the basepaths in the past eight years, coaching at first base for the first four years, then taking over at third base for the past four.
He has coached with the Hawai‘i Island Movers summer baseball team from 1995-2001 and again joined the summer baseball coaching circuit in 2005, serving as the head coach for the Waikiki Surfers of the Hawai‘i Summer Collegiate Baseball League.
Komeiji played one season at UH in 1982, playing 39 games. He then attended Orange Coast College in 1983 and was drafted in the first round of the 1983 Major League Baseball January winter draft by the Seattle Mariners.
He spent six seasons in the Seattle Mariners’ organization, climbing to AAA. After he was released by Seattle, he spent the next two seasons in the Italian Baseball League with Grosetto and San Marino.
Prior to coming aboard with the Rainbows, he was an assistant baseball coach at ‘Iolani School from 1995 to 2001.
The 46-year-old prepped locally at Kaiser High School in Honolulu, where he was a two-time all-state player and was named Player of the Year in 1981 while leading Kaiser to the state title.
Komeiji is married to the former Daisy Tsui and is the father of three: Rylen, Tiana and Zakary.
Keith Komeiji has only been the hitting coach for the Rainbows for two years. But in those two years, Komeiji has changed Hawai`i from a team known for its pitching and defense to a team that can compete with big numbers on the scoreboard as well.
During his first two seasons, the team has posted the highest team batting averages of the decade, batting .297 in 2006 and .305 in 2007. Along with the high marks as a team, Komeiji has overseen 13 players that have carried a batting average over .300 in those two seasons, including Kris Sanchez' .362 batting average in 2007 and Justin Frash's .359 batting average in 2006.
Under the tuteage of Komeiji, Sanchez had one of the best offensive seasons in UH history. Along with his .362 batting average, Sanchez added 10 home runs, 66 RBI and 23 doubles, all ranking in the top 10 in school history.
In 2007, the team also averaged over 6.5 runs per game, the most for the Rainbows since 1999. UH's 129 doubles ranked as the fourth-highest total in school history and the most since 1985.
Along with his duties as the hitting coach, Komeiji continues to work with the team's catchers.
Primarily working with the catchers from 2002-05, Komeiji helped two UH catchers, Grady Symonds (39th round, 2002) and Brian Bock (14th round, 2003) get drafted. He also coached one all-WAC catcher in Esteban Lopez (second team, 2005), who went on to get drafted in the 25th round of the 2006 draft. Matt Inouye, who also spent time as a catcher in his career under Komeiji's tutelage, was taken in the 21st round of the 2006 draft.
Komeiji has also been instrumental in UH's work on the basepaths in the past five years, coaching at first base for the first four years, then taking over at third base in 2006.
He has coached with the Hawai`i Island Movers summer baseball team from 1995-2001 and again joined the summer baseball coaching circuit in 2005, serving as the head coach for the Waikiki Surfers of the Hawai`i Summer Collegiate Baseball League.
Komeiji, who played for the Rainbows during the 1982 season, has been actively involved with baseball.
Prior to coming aboard with the Rainbows, he was an assistant baseball coach at Iolani School from 1995 to 2001.
The 44-year-old prepped locally at Kaiser High School in Honolulu, where he was a two-time all-state player and was named Player of the Year in 1981 while leading Kaiser to the state title.
After spending one season at UH, he attended Orange Coast College and was drafted in the first round of the 1983 Major League Baseball January winter draft by the Seattle Mariners.
He spent six seasons in the Seattle Mariners' organization, climbing to AAA. After he was released by Seattle, he spent the next two seasons in the Italian Baseball League with Grosetto and San Marino.
Komeiji is married to the former Daisy Tsui and is the father of three: Rylen, Tiana and Zakary.
