HONOLULU — Jesse Nakanishi was officially named as the next head coach of the Hawai’i Pacific University men’s basketball program Wednesday morning, succeeding longtime coach Darren Vorderbruegge after his retirement in March of 2023.

Nakanishi joined ‘Sharks Weekly’ immediately following the announcement, talking about how thankful he was to the people who conducted the search process to allow him this opportunity and his gratitude toward Vorderbruegge for his assistance in pushing forward the former associate head coach to greater heights.

“It’s a little surreal,” Nakanishi said of his first head coaching job at the college level. “It’s been quite a journey, definitely something I’ve been working towards every step of the way, and I couldn’t be more excited.”

The Kamehameha-Kapālama alum returned to his high school following his graduation from Lewis & Clark and eventually took over the reins of his old program, leading the Warriors to the state tournament seven of the eight years he was the head coach. 

Nakanishi won two state titles in his final three seasons coaching at KS-Kapālama before moving to the college ranks as an assistant coach under Vorderbruegge in 2012.  

“We’re a product of the people we learn from and our experiences and I couldn’t be more thankful for [Coach Vorderbruegge],” the new head coach said of his predecessor. “Next to my parents, the main guy in my life that has just mentored me along the way. I just have to give him a shoutout, big shoes to fill for sure with what he’s done here… Helping guide me, professionally and personally, has meant the world to me.” 

The journey from 2012 has been a long one that has included stops at two other schools, but “Coach Nak” returned to the familiar HPU sidelines last season as an associate head coach, helping display his ability to the school long before the national search began. 

Though he didn’t officially have the job, Nakanishi was confident in his ability and resume while HPU conducted the search, allowing him to get a head start on recruiting. 

“I’ve never been done recruiting in May, but [assistant coach Cam Flabel] and I hit the ground hard and sold our vision to [recruits] and what we have planned, and they bought into it,” Nakanishi explained of the recruiting process. “I want to really thank Dr. Debbie Snell, and even the committee, but Dr. Snell let me continue on as the interim and be able to do all the recruiting with the job still looming.” 

“I believed in myself to get this [head coaching job] and that I would be the best candidate they would see,” he continued. “I told them how confident I was in it as well and they believed in me and I’m thankful for that.” 

The new staff at HPU, comprised of many familiar faces, certainly hit the ground running this offseason while recruiting in the transfer portal. Among the players brought in for HPU include: 

Matt van Komen — 7’4 Center, transferring in from St. Mary’s, 3 years of eligibility remaining 

Tyrease Terrell — 6’4 Guard, graduate transfer from Nicholls State, former team captain, 1 year of eligibility remaining 

Charlie Weber — 6’9 Forward, transferring in from ETSU, 2 years of eligibility remaining 

Nikola Milojevic — 6’6 Forward, from Belgrade, Serbia and played at San Jose City College last season, 2 years of eligibility remaining

Miles Lewis — 6’0 Guard, transferring in from Contra Costa College, 1st-Team All-Conference last season, 2 years of eligibility remaining 

Josh Niusulu — 6’5 Forward, transferring in from Ohlone College in CA, was 1st-Team All-Defense and All-Conference last season, 2 years of eligibility remaining 

With fresh faces mixing with old ones, HPU expects to enter the season much like the staff entered the recruiting part of the offseason: fast, furious and fun. 

“We’re in it to represent the university as well as we can on-and-off the court,” Nakanishi said smiling. “We’re going to be a fun brand to watch… I want HPU to be a known commodity, here in Hawai’i and nationally. We’re going to be fun to watch and [a program that] people are going to be proud of and want to be a part of.”

HONOLULU — Following some technical difficulties, Sharks Weekly was able to record and catch up with HPU women’s tennis head coach Lauren Conching and senior Marleen Tilgner after their big-time Pac West Tournament wins out in Surprise, Arizona.

Conching and Tilgner discussed their mindset and helped preview their upcoming matches in the NCAA regional round and their desire to challenge for a national championship as a program that holds itself to a higher standard.

Following the opening segment where HPU women’s tennis was so gracious with their time, host Jeffrey Rich welcomed in the voice of HPU Athletics and a mainstay in the announcing scene on Oahu, “Paco Loco.” 

Rich and Paco discuss the legendary voice’s path to where he is now, including his humble beginnings at an HBCU in Pennsylvania, how he got into announcing in the first place and how a semi-random meeting of Joe Frazier helped him get his foot in the door of what he wanted to do the rest of his life.

The show gets a nice vintage “Paco Loco” read of the latest happenings in HPU athletics before continuing a conversation of Paco’s journey to becoming the Employee of the Year in his first year of work with his hometown Philadelphia Eagles, a job that started with him getting screen time on ESPN for his passion and energy when welcoming fans to games.

The show closes out with some NFL football talk ahead of the NFL draft on April 27, as Rich (Bills fan), Paco Loco (Eagles fan) and Paul Brecht (Jets fan) share some laughs and desires of what they want their team to do on Thursday’s event. 

You can catch Sharks Weekly every Wednesday at 9:00 AM HST on HSRN 95.1 FM | AM 760, at hawaiisportsradio.com or in our podcenter following the completion of the show. 

The Hawai’i Pacific University baseball team dropped the final game of a 3-game series against cross-island rival Hilo on March 26, falling 13-8 to the Vulcans while giving up 23 hits in the process.

After splitting Saturday’s double header, the Sharks looked to build off the momentum of the previous evening’s 6-5 comeback victory that saw HPU hold the Vulcans offense scoreless for the final five innings of the game.

Hilo’s Ryan Cho started things off with a bang, literally.

The Vulcans first baseman kept a hot weekend at the plate going in the first inning, crushing a Ryan Schuelke offering way over the left field fence to score Mason Cook and give Hilo an early 2-0 lead. 

Hilo starter Eamon Velarde settled down though, getting Richard Higa to strike out swinging before Chase Taylor brought in Nicholas Jio with a sacrifice fly to right field. Velarde would then get Noah Hata to ground out to second to escape the jam with only one run of damage.

A two-out single by Hilo’s Cook got the run right back for the Vulcans in the top of the second as the catcher picked up his second single of the day. Cook, along with Cho, picked up five hits apiece in Sunday’s win.

Alec Yamauchi added another run to the Hilo lead with a home run to left field in the top of the third, and Cho laced a single up the middle in the fourth to bring Brayden Yoshida around to score and make it 5-1, Vulcans.

The Sharks cut it back to two, 5-3, following a Hilo error that allowed both Jio and center fielder D.J. Stephens to cross home in the bottom of the fourth. 

Kein Iwata picked up his lone RBI of the day with a double in the fifth, then scored the very next batter as Yoshida singled to left. 

Once again, HPU tried to keep it close.

Taylor blasted a long home run to center field in the bottom half of the fifth after Higa led off the inning with a walk. The Sharks continued to threaten after Hata was hit by a pitch and swiped 2nd, but Travis Johnson tapped one back to the mound for the final out of the inning. 

A wacky bottom of the sixth saw the Sharks get four straight free passes and use a passed ball to make it 9-7 with runners on second and third and nobody out. 

Higa was caught too far from the bag on Chase Taylor’s lineout to right field, getting doubled up while TJ Smith tagged up to cut the Hilo lead to one. 

Once again, the Vulcans had an answer as Cook picked up another hit with an RBI single up the middle and Blake Tweedt helped him score with a single to right field, giving Hilo much needed breathing room. 

UH-H added two more insurance runs in the top of the ninth, as the 22nd ranked Vulcans looked to close out the visit to O’ahu with a series victory over the Sharks. 

Jake Liberta came in to lock things down for the visitors in the 7th and finished his 2.1 innings strong, striking out the side in the ninth to pick up his eighth save of the season. 

The Vulcans (17-7) were led by Cook and Cho, each going 5-6 and combining for 5 RBI in the victory, as Hilo heads to the mainland for a 12-game trip.

Taylor knocked in half of HPU’s runs, registering 4 RBI in Sunday’s loss. The Sharks (10-15) will also head to the mainland for a long road trip of their own, spanning 14 games and five different opponents.