Brandyn Akana, who has seen success as both a player and coach locally, begins his third season as an assistant on the Rainbow Warrior coaching staff. Akana has been integral in UH’s success over the last two years, serving as the team’s recruiting coordinator and assisting in scouting, community relations and developing the team’s guards.
UH has enjoyed a resurgence during Akana’s two seasons with 35 wins and a postseason berth. In his work with the UH guards, he helped develop Jeremiah Ostrowski who in 2011-12 finished sixth in the nation in assists per game (7.0). Meanwhile, Akana has also helped the program branch out internationally. In the summer of 2011, he was the lead coordinator for the program’s historic “Warriors To Asia” tour of China and Japan.
Akana came to UH from BYU-Hawai‘i where he was an assistant coach for nine years. Akana played an integral part in BYU-Hawai‘i’s transformation into a perennial national contender in Division II basketball. As an associate coach, he was involved in nearly every aspect of the program and was the team’s lead recruiter. He now brings his talents to the Manoa campus, where his brother and wife both were standout student-athletes.
Akana enjoyed tremendous success himself, both as a player and coach, during his time at BYUH. The team qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament in eight of Akana’s nine seasons on the staff, including regional final appearances in each of the last three seasons. The Seasiders finished no lower than second place in the Pac West and claimed the conference championship five times. Prior to the 2009-10 season, the program achieved the preseason No. 1 ranking in Division II.
Recognized as one of the top Division II recruiters in the nation, Akana helped reel in four players who earned Pac West Freshman of the Year honors and five All-Americans, including three-time All-American Lucas Alves. As the associate coach, Akana’s other responsibilities included scheduling, travel, scouting and on-court instruction involving guards and team defense.
He also helped to coordinate camps hosted at the university and assisted in planning the annual BYU-Hawai‘i Asia Pacific International Tournament. Aside from his coaching duties at BYUH, he also served as an assistant professor in the Exercise Sports and Science Department as well as the Director of Intramurals.
Akana also boasts extensive international experience having participated in numerous clinics around the world. He has been involved in the Pre-NBA Draft Camp, Pete Newell’s Big Man Camp and has been heavily involved in the Asian basketball scene. He has regularly assisted in the China University Basketball Association (CUBA) basketball camps, Beijing Basketball Camp, Taiwan Basketball Camp, the All-Asia Basketball Camp and has helped train the Chinese National Team. As a player-coach for the Samoan Men’s National Team the last 11 years, he has participated in camps and competitions throughout the South Pacific. He is also heavily involved in Special Olympics Hawai‘i, having mentored numerous coaches.
As a collegiate player, Akana enjoyed an outstanding career for BYU-Hawai‘i. His teams qualified for the NAIA Tournament three times, including his senior season in which he averaged 16.3 points per game. Akana was named NAIA All-American honorable mention that season. He ended his career in the school’s top 10 in nine different statistical categories.
Akana graduated from BYUH in 1999 with a degree in exercise and sports science. He earned his master’s in kinesiology and leisure science from UH in 2001.
A native of Kaunakakai, Molokai, Akana is a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Akana’s older brother, Jarrin, is a former UH basketball player (1992-94) and has worked in the NBA as an assistant coach and scout for the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, New Jersey Nets and Milwaukee Bucks.
Akana’s wife, the former Joselyn Robins, also played collegiate sports at UH as a standout volleyball player (1993-96). The couple has two daughters— Braelyn (12) and Keonilei (11)—and a son, Tausilinu‘u (9).
