Hawaii secures Utah EDGE transfer Ka’eo Akana away from UCLA commitment

Hawaii secures Utah EDGE transfer Ka’eo Akana away from UCLA commitment

Jan 13, 2025

EDGE Ka’eo Akana poses for a photo with Hawai’i football head coach Timmy Chang, Hawai’i defensive ends coach Jordan Pu’u-Robinson and Akana’s nephew Kash.

Hawai’i secures Utah EDGE transfer Ka’eo Akana away from UCLA commitment

BY MICHAEL LASQUERO | HSRN
PUBLISHED JANUARY 13, 2025

Ka’eo Akana used to follow brothers Bubba and Chase to high school football practice for Saint Francis School in Manoa Valley District Park growing up.

Now at 21 years old, Akana is coming full circle as he will be taking classes in Manoa as a member of the University of Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors in 2025.

Akana comes to the Hawai’i football team via the transfer portal with two years of eligibility after spending three years at Utah. He previously committed to play for UCLA on Dec. 17 of last year, but spent his winter break at his family’s home in Pauoa Valley.

“My plans for the future are to stay home and play for the home team,” Akana told HSRN on Monday. “It’s just a great opportunity to play in front of my friends and family.

“You can’t beat home. Home is still home and that will always be what we live for. We want to defend the rock, and that’s what we’ll do.”

Ka’eo Akana tackles a ballcarrier in Aloha Stadium during the 2019 high school football season. | Photo credit: Michael Lasquero for ScoringLive

The 6-foot-3, 233-pound pass rusher was a 4-star prospect out of high school and was rated as the No. 1 player in the state from the 2022 class by 247Sports. Because Saint Francis School closed down in 2019, Akana finished his prep career at Roosevelt and also earned OIA and ScoringLive All-Hawaii Division I Defensive Player of the Year honors in his senior season.

Akana will reunite with former Roosevelt and Saint Francis defensive end Jackie Johnson III on the Rainbow Warriors. Johnson, who began his collegiate career in the NAIA playing for Lawrence Tech in Michigan, recorded five sacks in 2024 and was recently placed on scholarship.

“It was always a dream of ours to play at home in front of our families and play together so that was good for me and Jack to reunite,” Akana said.

Relationships forged with the Hawai’i coaching staff also played a factor in Akana’s decision. Head coach Timmy Chang and other members of the staff made Akana feel like a priority when they had lunch with him at Kim Chee II in Kaimuki on the first day of the portal period.

Defensive ends coach Jordan Pu’u-Robinson also impressed Akana with his acumen and expertise in Akana’s position group while associate head coach and linebackers coach Chris Brown already had a relationship with Akana from Brown’s time at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas when the Akana family considered sending Akana there during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“They just welcomed me with open arms and loved me, loved my family and that’s all you can really ask for, is that love and that relationship,” Akana said.

“Coach Pu’u-Robinson, he’s a really good coach. He coaches hard and I feel like that’s what I need so it should be good. Yeah it’ll be fun.”

During the winter break, Akana also trained with renowned strength coach Marcus-Lawrie Kimura and former Hawai’i defensive end Jonah Kahahawai-Welch and reconnected with longtime mentor and Roosevelt defensive coordinator Jon Kahooilihala.

“The training has been good,” Akana said. “The field work with Jonah, we do that three times a week and then Marcus is every day, so yeah we’ve been going at it.

“Just being back in Hawai’i, you know, there’s no other feeling. It’s Hawaii, and this is our home, so you can’t beat this.”

Hawai’i football begins spring practice on Feb. 3.

Kalani pulls away from Kalaheo in OIA East action, 56-27

Kalani pulls away from Kalaheo in OIA East action, 56-27

Jan 7, 2025

The Kalani girls basketball team continued its winning ways with a 57-26 win over host Kalaheo in an OIA East contest at Pete Smith Court Tuesday night.

The Falcons were strong defensively in the first quarter and held the Mustangs without a field goal as they took a 17-5 lead after the first eight minutes of play and never looked back.

It was the fourth win in a row for Kalani (11-5 overall, 4-3 league), who dropped its first three games of the regular season.

“The first three losses that we had, we definitely dwelled on it and then we just gave up before our coaches told us not to get it in our heads too much and that we still have a bunch of more games in the season to turn it around,” said junior forward Alina Stephenson.

“Coming together as a team is definitely one thing that we improved on. Beginning of the season, it was a little rough because I think we’re worried about ourselves and individually, so coming together is definitely one thing better I would say.”

Stephenson poured in a game-high 20 points while garnering many steals and rebounds and earned HSRN’s “VIP of the Game” award, which is presented by Fun Factory.

Kalani also got seven made 3-pointers in the game, highlighted by Kylie Awakuni’s season-high 12 points on four triples off the bench.

“I’m super proud of her,” Stephenson said of Awakuni. “I think that’s the best she’s ever done and I’m so happy that she came and stepped up to the game.”

Isabelle Baker scored nine points with one made triple after battling with foul trouble while Mia Garvin rounds out the top scorers with eight points. Which included back-to-back 3-pointers to give Kalani a 12-2 lead early in the game

Kalaheo, who was dealing with a number of injuries, dropped to 1-9 and 1-7.

Taysha Ukauka was a bright spot for the Mustangs with 16 points.

VCSU football notebook: big things in store for the Vikings in 2025

VCSU football notebook: big things in store for the Vikings in 2025

Dec 31, 2024

VCSU football notebook: big things in store for the Vikings in 2025

BY MICHAEL LASQUERO | HSRN
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 31, 2024

With nearly a dozen players from Hawai’i, life in North Dakota as a member of the Valley City State University football team can be similar to living the life back in the islands.

That is until the winter months.

Fortunately for student-athletes like Haiku-native Tobias Vasquez, an expansion to the W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse should make practice easier during the cold season.

VCSU will break ground on the new expansion in the spring of 2025 thanks to a generous $5 million donation by Garth Tharaldson and family. This will help VCSU add an indoor turf practice facility, a 200-meter indoor track, locker and meeting rooms as well as a new Hall of Fame.

“I’m excited because it sucks practicing in the cold,” said Vasquez. “I’m not used to it. It’s hard, but it’s football.”

Vasquez is one of eleven players from Hawai’i that was on the Vikings’ roster in 2024. Although he redshirted this past season, Vasquez is looking to be a contributor for VCSU in 2025 as the Vikings will be leaving the North Star Athletic Association and joining the Frontier Conference in the fall.

“We’re excited for this new adventure with a well-respected and highly competitive conference in the NAIA,” said VCSU coach Dennis McCulloch. “With our five NSAA schools making the move together, the conference can get creative with scheduling to help lessen the anticipated increase in travel time and costs.”

“The daily competition we’ll face in the Frontier is a challenge that our programs will be forced to rise to,” said McCulloch. “With support from our campus and a passionate fan base, we’re confident we can elevate our programs to become more competitive nationally as a member of the Frontier.”

The Vikings are making the move with four other NSAA schools. While majority of the Frontier Conference full-member schools hail from Montana, there are four football-only members that are closer to the islands in Arizona Christian, College of Idaho, Eastern Oregon and Southern Oregon.

Vasquez is looking forward to the opportunity, especially with former King Kekaulike teammates Kingston Kapu and Kalani Puu on Eastern Oregon’s roster.

“I’m excited for it because it’s better teams so more competition, more room to get better and improve,” said Vasquez.

With more opponents closer to home, VCSU just adds to the number of reasons why it’s a solid option for Hawai’i student-athletes wanting to play at the next level.

Scholarship opportunities, like the one sponsored by Fantastic Sams, also make VCSU an affordable option.

There is still time to get recruited by the Vikings. Athletes in Hawai’i that are interested in these scholarship can apply by going to vcsuvkings.com and fill out the ‘Recruit Me’ form.

VCSU offensive coordinator Dustin Yorek, the Hawai’i recruiter for the Vikings, will be looking to hand out scholarships to prospective players in person towards the ending of January and beginning of February 2025.

Maryknoll boys basketball wins revamped Tony Sellitto Hawai’i Invitational

Maryknoll boys basketball wins revamped Tony Sellitto Hawai’i Invitational

Dec 22, 2024

Maryknoll boys basketball wins revamped Tony Sellitto Hawai’i Invitational

BY MICHAEL LASQUERO | HSRN
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 22, 2024

Sharing is caring for the Maryknoll boys basketball team.

The Spartans assisted on 21 of their 29 made field goals to defeat Konawaena, 70-32, in the seventh annual Tony Sellitto Hawai’i Invitational at the Clarence T.C. Ching Gymnasium at the Maryknoll Community Center Saturday night.

The multi-day non-conference tournament is named after the coach that turned Maryknoll from a fledgling program in the mid-1960s into a perennial contender for two decades. Sellitto guided his teams to seven Interscholastic League of Honolulu AA titles, one state AA crown and three state A championships before leading Hawai’i Pacific to 12 winning season and a NAIA national championship in 1993.

The annual Sellitto Invitational began in 2015 before taking a hiatus for three years during the COVID-19 pandemic. It resumed in 2023 and is now under new leadership with tournament executive director Payton Grant and tournament director of marketing and corporate sponsorships Micah Tong, both former players of the program, along with athletic directors Ben Valle and Blaine Gier.

Presented by Hawai’i Pacific Health, the Invitational spanned five days and featured nine different boys teams and five girls teams. In addition to teams on Oahu, there was representatives from Hawai’i island, California, West Anchorage and British Columbia.

“I think it went well,” said Grant. “I was a little stressed out coming into the week. We have a lot of traveling teams, so wondering if they’ll actually get here in time. The biggest thing for us was catering to them, making Hawai’i feel like home and welcomed. I think we did a good job, our staff. Our ADs Ben Valle and Blaine Gier, they did a good job and then Micah Tong and Brandon Amano helped me a lot along with our boy’s varsity program.”

This was the first year that the boys’ side of the field employed a bracket-type format, although there were a few alterations to the matchups to prohibit teams from the same league playing each other.

Grant is hoping to build up the tournament into something bigger in the coming years. He added that he was pleased with all the teams competing until the final buzzer, no matter the score.

“We wanna grow into a bigger tournament and just be able to showcase Hawai’i basketball,” said Grant. “I’m hearing a lot of feedback from the visiting coaches asking if we’re having this tournament against next year. It’s been a blast.”

Nixis Yamauchi scored 14 points and had four assists to lead the Spartans over the Wildcats on Saturday and was named the Kawazoe Group Most Valuable Player.

“I feel accomplished of me and my team,” said Yamauchi. “Individually we were unselfish with the ball. We play very well together. We’re all pass first, but at the same time, very aggressive.”

2024 Tony Sellitto Hawai’i Invitational All-Tournament Team, presented by Kawazoe Group
Diego Ultreras, El Capitan
Kole Tanaka-Yee, North Torrance
Buob Marial, West Anchorage
Jayden Hough, Waiakea
Riley Miura, Mid-Pacific
Dylan Nonaka, Konawaena
Alex Martinez, Konawaena
Rome Lilio, Maryknoll
MVP: Nixis Yamauchi, Maryknoll

Utah Prep wins ‘Iolani Classic behind Hawai’i trio, Dybantsa

Utah Prep wins ‘Iolani Classic behind Hawai’i trio, Dybantsa

Dec 21, 2024

Laie’s Anthony Felesi, former ‘Iolani point guard JJ Mandaquit and Kohala’s Layden Kauka helped lead Utah Prep to a championship win at the 40th annual ‘Iolani Prep Classic Saturday night.

Utah Prep wins ‘Iolani Classic behind Hawai’i trio, Dybantsa

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 21, 2024

HONOLULU – The boys loved being back home. 

Utah Prep won the 2024 ‘Iolani Classic on Saturday night, taking down Brewster Prep (NH) in the championship game, 45-43, to complete a perfect 4-0 stretch in the legendary high school basketball tournament. Led by the nation’s top recruit and three prep stars that once called Hawai’i home, the national team for Utah Prep dispatched opponents by a combined 124 points in the four games in the holiday tournament. 

Kahuku was one of two local programs that took aim at the national prep powerhouse, falling in the opening round of the tournament to Utah Prep, 107-50. The Red Raiders had multiple good moments, including a fallaway jumper by Mystique Akina-Watson over AJ Dybantsa and a 20-point performance by Ronin Naihe, but ultimately succumbed to the overwhelming talent of the Utah Prep roster. 

“That’s why you play the game of basketball,” Kahuku head coach Bradyn Akana said after the game. “You play the best players in the country … it was a fun game for our guys, and I think it was a great experience.” 

JJ Mandaquit, Anthony Felesi and Layden Kauka each made their returns to the islands for the tournament, starring in various stretches throughout the games as Utah Prep showed off what national powerhouse prep schools can look like to the fans in attendance. Mandaquit tallied 20 points in the opening round game, drilling four three-pointers and tossing down a pair of thrilling dunks for onlookers. 

“It was a lot of fun,” Mandaquit said of his return to his old home gym. “It means everything to come back home and just to see the level of support, it was really cool and made me want to play harder. 

Felesi took his turn the next night, leading all scorers with 21 points against ‘Iolani as Utah Prep posted a 50-plus point win for the second straight night. Former Kohala star Layden Kauka added 13 points with a trio of three-pointers for Utah Prep for his tournament-high output.  

“I always wanted to play in [the ‘Iolani Classic] as a kid and in my freshman year,” Kauka said of his return to the islands. “Playing in this tournament now is really a great feeling in front of both the Hawai’i kids and the people who support me most.” 

Felesi, who is originally from Laie and holds an offer from the University of Hawai’i, was asked if he could see himself returning to the islands for his college career after the trip back for the ‘Iolani Classic. While the Rainbow Warriors will have a big hill to climb in the recruiting battle with programs such as Houston, Creighton and BYU among the many others competing for the 6-foot-6 wing’s services, Felesi did say he “could see himself returning home” for his next step while noting how nice it was to compete in front of his family again. 

Utah Prep worked past Oak Hill (VA) in the semifinals on Friday night, 63-52, behind a 26-point explosion from Dybantsa with him drilling 15-of-19 attempts from the foul line. The nation’s top recruit and BYU commit shouldered the load again on Saturday night, scoring 29 points to power Utah Prep over Brewster Academy, 45-43. 

Senior bowl provides opportunity for Hawai’i student-athletes to get to the next level

Senior bowl provides opportunity for Hawai’i student-athletes to get to the next level

Dec 21, 2024

Senior bowl provides opportunity for Hawai’i student-athletes to get to the next level

BY MICHAEL LASQUERO | HSRN
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 21, 2024

Last Sunday’s prep football showcase at Waipahu High School was more than a ‘final hurrah’ for senior student-athletes from across the state.

It was just one of many events put on by the Hawai’i Chapter of the National Football Foundation (NFF) to help kids get to the collegiate level.

At least one player received an offer from the University of Hawai’i and around 10 more got offers from several NAIA schools after their performance on the field at the inaugural 808 Senior Player Recruitment Opportunity (PRO) Bowl.

Ray Ma’ae, the director of the Hawai’i Chapter of the (NFF), was thrilled at how year one of the event turned out.

“It took a lot of planning, but in the end it was really rewarding to see the support from the community and see the players give it their all on the field, maximum effort,” Ma’ae said.

Waianae’s Kingston Costales posted the news of his offer from Hawai’i on social media on Wednesday. Costales primarily played on the defensive line for the Seariders in 2024, but was able to showcase his abilities as a middle linebacker in the senior bowl.

“It really showed his skillset and he has a nose for the ball,” Ma’ae said of Costales. “I think in that game he had at least 10 tackles. Great performance by Kingston.”

Last Sunday’s event nearly ran for 12 hours with three gridiron football games scheduled between six total teams.

There also was a girls flag football exhibition game that preceded the final matchup of the night, giving fans an early preview at the new sanctioned sport coming to the prep ranks next spring.

“That was super awesome. We wanted to help lead into an introductory to the community to see the girls compete on the field for the first upcoming season,” said Ma’ae. “It also gave a chance for the officiating crew to get a jumpstart on officiating this type of platform.”

The event was just one of many initiatives taken by Ma’ae and his staff to provide exposure for Hawai’i student-athletes.

For players still needing opportunities, Ma’ae’s organization will be taking a group of seniors to the 12th annual Terry Donahue Memorial Showcase in California in February 2025. There will also be the 808 PRO Day Combine in May that saw its inaugural event take place earlier this year with financial support provided by organizations the include Alaska Airlines and the T. George and Violet Paris Foundation.

Ma’ae also made sure to shoutout the many individuals that worked tireless behind the scenes as well as the sponsors that helped make everything possible at the 808 senior PRO bowl.

At the top is Ma’ae’s wife Leilani, who was the major driver in the organization and coordinator of the event and kept everything together and moving forward.

Team mangers for the six teams included Trenda Sylva, Kylie Bagio, Nicole Kamai, Makana Valle, Iris Lau and Krystal Kaili and officials for the event were from the Oahu Football Officials Association and coordinated by Van Peterson and Matt Sumstine.

Waipahu High School and head coach Bryson Carvalho served as the site hosts with Kapolei’s Alex Lo, Waianae’s Elizabeth Tiolu and Waipahu’s Alex Gasmen serving as athletic trainers.

Equipment and game balls were provided by Santana Sports. Security was provided by HiBred Protection and MBC Athletics 808.

Financial contributors included Ironworkers Local 625, Marcus Martiota’s Motiv8 Foundation, the Hawai’i Army National Guard, Starcomm Wireless, National Football Foundation of the California Chapter (California Showcase).

The game was also live-streamed through the National Football High School Network with Gay Shinbara from ESPN events and Brian Bautista from B3Sports coordinating and setting up all the media personnel and livestream. Commentators on the stream was Rory Kim and Bryson Tsuchiyama while Joey Ma’ae was the on-field announcer.

The Ark of Safety Hawai’i church also donated meals and drinks for all the girls and coaches and had pastor Jadeen Tuinei give the opening prayer while Jena Meyers, Naleah Meyers and Breani Jeremiah sang the anthems.

Girls flag football officials were provided by XL Sports 808 and Tsuchiyama while the players were coordinated by Roosevelt’s girls flag football head coach Dawny Jones and her organization Wahine Era Athletics Hawai’i (WEAH).

Leilani Ma’ae’s company Blast Athletic Hawai’i provided team uniforms and apparel as well as the digital game day programs.

There were also fancy porta potty’s for the kupuna, wahine and keikis provided by Executive Event Services LLC.

Coaches Asai Gilman and David Tautofi also served as members of the planning committee and primary photographers for the event, practices and games were Lori McKeown and Grant Shishido.

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