HONOLULU — Long before she was etching her name into the Chaminade softball record books, Taryn Fujioka was tearing it up on the diamond. 

She started her career at four years old as a baseball player and continued for years before making the switch to softball and dominating for the Pearl City Chargers. Fujioka’s dad shared a love of playing the game with her and she wanted to join her cousins out on the field when it came time to play.

That combination was all that was needed to get her in the door and the now-Chaminade shortstop’s heart swooned for the sport. She made a transition to softball at the age of seven, though she continued playing baseball as well until high school. 

“When I got to high school, I realized softball was going to be my number one focus,” Fujioka explained of the switch. “I wanted to put all of my time and effort into softball. 

Of course for Fujioka, the start of high school also meant the start of starring for the varsity softball squad at Pearl City. As a freshman, she batted .321 and was named as a 2018 OIA-All West All-Star honorable mention. 

The following years were thrown off by a global pandemic, taking away a full season from athletes across the planet. By the time she was able to return to the field in 2021 for a six-game condensed season, Fujioka was a high school senior looking for her next step to the college level. 

She turned the six-game slate into a pseudo-showcase, batting a scorching hot .389 for Pearl City. Without the world being back to normal though, the recruiting process had been difficult for the years prior and still a hassle for any mainland schools she was interested in. 

Luckily, she didn’t exactly want to go too far to continue her softball career at the college level and an opportunity presented itself as prime for Fujioka’s taking.

“I ended up staying [home in Hawai’i], the whole summer to play softball, and after that I realized that maybe I wanted to stay home for softball,” the Swords shortstop remembered. “Our coach at Pearl City, he helped me get in touch with [head coach Kent Yamaguchi] and talk to Coach Kent about Chaminade. Once I knew staying home was something I wanted to do, Chaminade was the school I wanted to go to.” 

The partnership has been fruitful for each side, as Fujioka has held down shortstop for the Swords for 84 of 87 total games played for Chaminade. She also has started every game from the moment she suited up for Yamaguchi and the Silverswords two seasons ago. 

Not only does she have the best availability she could, but the numbers have returned record results early on for the star shortstop. She led the team in hits and was second in batting average during her first year at the college ranks while tying the Chaminade single-season program record with four triples.  

Fujioka’s second-year encore was anything but the feared “sophomore slump” as she was named to the All-PacWest Third Team for her stupendous season. Fujioka led the conference with 36 walks and 46 runs scored, both Chaminade program records. 

As if that wasn’t enough, she also decided to spend 22 straight games — or the entire month of March worth of games — reaching base for the Silverswords for the second-longest streak in school history. 

Fujioka also discussed her future dreams while she works towards a business degree, how Pearl City helped prepare her for her next step in life — both on the field and in the classroom — before sharing the love she feels from local support and much more. 

The former Pearl City star has sliced through all challenges thrown her way so far and with no signs of slowing down, Chaminade fans should be excited.

It’s full steam ahead for Taryn Fujioka. 

HONOLULU — Adversity and adjustments are familiar acquaintances in Kahuku graduate Jessiya Villa’s life.

Born on O’ahu, the guard relocated to the mainland early on in life and spent the first three years of high school in Maryland before finally returning home for the 2016-17 school year, suiting up with Samuta Avea for the Red Raiders.

His “return” home actually came the year prior, as Villa came back to the islands with his mainland squad for the 2015 ‘Iolani Classic and helped lead the Maryland-based program to a high finish while he placed amongst the leading scorers of the event. 

While it was exciting to participate in as an outsider, the Hawai’i-native-turned-mainland-transplant knew that there was something still missing. 

“I’m a very family-oriented person,” the ’17 Kahuku graduate said. “Coming back to Kahuku from the mainland allowed me to reconnect with family members… I remember being one of the only Polynesian-lookin’ dudes out on the mainland and coming to Kahuku, I just fit right in. I don’t see any negatives when it comes to attending an OIA school in comparison to others.” 

Villa decided to come back home for his final year before stepping up to the college ranks, suiting up with former University of Hawai’i men’s basketball star Samuta Avea among others at Kahuku for the 2016-17 basketball season. 

And what a magical season it was for the “Big Red Sea” and team. 

The season started with another visit to the event that helped bring the benefits of Hawai’i back to the forefront for Villa. 

Taking his second trip to the ‘Iolani Classic, this time with an OIA school, he was on the right side. 

“I was a villain my junior year and then senior year with the good guys,” Villa chuckled as he recalled both experiences. 

He finished as the tournament’s leading scorer, averaging over 21 points a night while helping Kahuku to a 3rd-place finish in the 2016 edition of the event. The Hawai’i program took down a pair of national powerhouses on the way to the bronze. 

Behind the efforts of Avea and Villa, Kahuku went on a magical run to win the 2017 HHSAA Division I state championship for the Red Raiders. The title remains the most recent D1 state champion earned by an OIA school after Campbell fell to Saint Louis in the 2023 championship.

The guard’s return home was capped off with HHSAA player of the year honors to go along with being named Hawai’i’s Gatorade Player of the Year. 

Following his graduation from Kahuku, Villa took a redshirt year while staying home for the University of Hawai’i along with Avea.

While the pairing of UH and Villa didn’t work out on the court, the guard knew Hawai’i was home and already had an existing relationship with the Chaminade staff. 

The guard transferred into the Silverswords program after entering the portal, making his debut in the spring of 2021, and giving fans a preview of what they could expect. 

The 6-foot redshirt junior played in all 12 games, making 10 starts and finishing top-three in scoring on the team in the abbreviated stint. With eyes to a full season, the potential of 2022 quickly was crushed by a knee injury that would sideline Villa for the year.

“Coming back from that injury was probably one of the most difficult moments of my life,” he said of the rehab process. “After a few years, I feel in the best shape that I’m in [now].” 

While it hurt physically, the mental battle was almost equally difficult. Luckily for Villa, a connection with former NBA MVP and current New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose helped the now-redshirt junior with some advice in his journey back. 

“The recovery process will not be easy, but it will be worth it,” Villa said the former All-NBA selection assured him. In terms of his own advice to continue on Rose’s, Villa said he would advise others to “take advantage of every moment, take it day-by-day and don’t rush it.”

Villa returned last season in November but is fully healthy as he heads into the 2023-24 slate with eyes on etching himself in another piece of Hawaiian basketball history. The Silverswords will compete in the Maui Invitational this season, a chance to play against some of the cream of the Division I crop. 

“I’ll give you one huge expectation for me is to play a significant role,” he said of the upcoming season and the chances presented to the Swords. “We have the Maui Invitational this year and so I’d like to knock down one of those teams.” 

The ’17 graduate of Kahuku also discussed his preparation for college after his one year at the OIA school before going on to talk about his studies and plans of taking advantage of his extra two years of eligibility on the court to help him in his pursuit of a master’s degree at Chaminade.  

Villa has racked up a lot of miles, both in travel and experience. While it could be exhausting to some, for the Kahuku graduate, the journey rolls on with eyes on improvement every day.