HPU Softball growing and learning under new coaching staff

HPU Softball growing and learning under new coaching staff

Mar 13, 2026

HPU Softball growing and learning under new coaching staff

The Sharks celebrate after getting an inning-ending out against Dominican on Monday afternoon. | Photo: Michael Lasquero

The record may not reflect it, but the Hawai‘i Pacific University softball team is trending in the right direction.

Despite being swept in their most recent home series against Dominican University of California, the Sharks (4-14) showed flashes of promise in three of the four losses.

In the series opener, HPU mounted a two-run rally in the bottom of the sixth inning to remain competitive in a 6-2 loss. The Sharks followed with a marathon contest that stretched into multiple extra innings before falling 5-3 after tying the game following the fifth inning.

HPU also appeared poised to salvage the finale after building a 7-1 lead through four innings, but Dominican rallied to hand the Sharks an 8-7 defeat.

Although the losses were frustrating, first-year head coach Alex Takemura said the experience has been valuable for a young roster.

“What we cover at practice — it’s very hard to create those scenarios and the emotion that goes into it,” Takemura said. “I think that just comes with experience. There are a lot of growing pains and a lot of things we can’t really duplicate at practice, but the girls are coming a long way.”

“They’re really learning a lot. We’re taking all the bumps along the way, but we’re learning from them and I think we’re going to be stronger for it.”

Sophomore infielder Felicia Tanno turns a double play against Dominican. | Photo: Michael Lasquero

Takemura also praised the team’s resilience despite the results.

“They never quit,” he said. “They play to the end. They take all of the instruction — anything that we do with it — they trust it, and it’s becoming very competitive.”

Several players have stood out early in the season.

Junior catcher Danielle Cote is batting .395 with 17 hits and 11 RBIs. Sophomore Makayla Pagampao leads the team in hits (19), doubles (six) and RBIs (14), while sophomore shortstop Taryn Hirano tops the Sharks in runs scored (18) and triples (five) while taking on a larger leadership role.

Sophomore shortstop Taryn Hirano has been a steady presence for the 2026 HPU softball team. | Photo: Michael Lasquero

 

Junior infielder Miquela Leopoldo has also surged recently, going 6-for-9 over the team’s last three games.

“There’s bits and pieces of really good signs from a lot of people,” Takemura said.

HPU now turns its attention to its longest road stretch of the season with 16 consecutive games away from the islands. The Sharks will not return to their home field at Sand Island Recreational Park until April 13.

Takemura hopes the extended road trip will help the team continue to grow.

“Just continue to build memories and come tougher as a team,” he said. “The road can do a lot of things to you, but it can also bring you really, really close. You learn a lot about each other and spend a lot of time together, so it’s learning who we can count on and who steps up in different moments.”

The Sharks open the road trip with a pair of doubleheaders against Concordia University Irvine on Friday and Saturday.

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Sharks baseball bounce back to earn split against Azusa Pacific

Sharks baseball bounce back to earn split against Azusa Pacific

Mar 9, 2026

Sharks baseball bounce back to earn split against Azusa Pacific

The Sharks celebrate after Noah Hata hit a home run against Azusa Pacific. | Photo: Michael Lasquero

WAIPAHU — After two heartbreaking losses to start the series, the Hawai’i Pacific University baseball team had a prime opportunity to reveal what kind of team it was.

Not only did the Sharks win the next two games against Asuza Pacific University to split the season series, they did it in convincing fashion with two blowout wins last Saturday at Hans L’Orange Park.

HPU (10-11) won the first game of Saturday’s double-header, 8-1, before recording 14 hits in a 10-2 win over the Cougars (10-14) in the nightcap.

It was the type of performance that coach Dane Fujinaka wanted to see from his squad after losing a pair of leads in the eighth inning the previous two nights.

“Proud of the response,” said Fujinaka. “We executed the plans we set out and the boys did a great showing up with great energy after two tough losses. Nice to see our toughness show up.”

In the series opener against APU Thursday night, HPU held a 5-2 lead after captain Noah Hata’s first home run of the season before giving up three runs in the top of the eighth on a pair of homers by the Cougars. The game remained tied for six consecutive innings before ending in the 15th with APU winning game one, 9-7.

Friday night did not go into extra innings, but it was a lot tighter with the lead exchanging hands a couple of times before a bases-loaded walk gave HPU a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fifth. APU ultimately tied it in the top of the eighth on a solo home run before taking the lead for good on a HPU error in the ninth inning for a 6-5 win.

“I told the boys that despite the 2-2 record, we got better,” Fujinaka said. “Losing those two close games will ultimately prepare us for tight games in the future that we will need to learn how to eventually win. We are in a good spot and we are definitely playing better all-around baseball.”

Tyler Arnold earned PacWest Player of the Week honors after a strong showing against Azusa Pacific. | Photo: Daniel Fujita

t wasn’t a series win, but the Sharks did earn some hardware from the PacWest conference after the strong showing in Saturday’s double-header win.

Sophomore corner infielder Tyler Arnold batted 11-for-18 in the series with four doubles, six runs scored and eight RBI to earn Player of the Week honors in the conference. He had three hits in two of the games and four in another. In the final game of the series, Arnold went 4-for-4 with five RBI and three doubles.

Utility Jayden Gabrillo, another sophomore, earned his second Pitcher of the Week award by pitching five scoreless innings in game four of the APU series. He allowed just one hit, walked just one batter and struck out three on an efficient 50 pitches.

Overall, Fujinaka was pleased with multiple performances from his squad.

“Taydem Hashimoto was an all star this weekend both defensively and offensively. Hata is starting to dial in his approach and is finally looking like himself. Arnold and Kan Taguchi have been great. Gabrillo has been outstanding offensively and I thought was just okay on the mound today despite the good results. But nice to see him workout off it and get in a rhythm. Thought he was better in the later innings.

Reliever Jacob Vanek throws a pitch to plate against Azusa Pacific. | Photo: Michael Lasquero

Super happy with the performance of our bullpen the entire weekend. I know they were tired and I asked a lot of them this weekend but they did a great job.”

Next up for HPU, a home series against reigning PacWest champion Westmont (14-5). The four-game series was initially scheduled for Friday and Saturday, but has been pushed back to March 15 and 16 due to upcoming weather.

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Hawaii Pacific earns at-large bid to 2026 NCAA Division II Tournament

Hawaii Pacific earns at-large bid to 2026 NCAA Division II Tournament

Mar 8, 2026

Hawaii Pacific earns at-large bid to 2026 NCAA Division II Tournament

HPU celebrates after coming back from 17 down on the road to defeat Chaminade in overtime. | Photo Credit: Daniel Fujita, HSRN

 

HONOLULU – They finally sent an invite back to the islands.

For the third time in program history, the Hawaii Pacific University men’s basketball team is going dancing as the Sharks received an at-large bid to the 2026 NCAA Division II men’s basketball tournament on Sunday evening.

Hawaii Pacific (18-11) secured the West Region’s No. 7 seed, setting up a first-round matchup against No. 2-seeded Saint Martin’s (25-5). The Saints won the GNAC regular season and tournament titles, going into postseason play ranked No. 21 in the nation.

HPU returned home on Saturday after falling in the PacWest semifinals to No. 22 Point Loma and reconvened on Sunday inside the ‘Shark Reef’ in Mānoa to watch the 2026 NCAA Division II men’s basketball tournament selection show.

The Sharks were ranked seventh in the West Region after collecting a pair of top 25 wins and 18 wins within the region this year, but there was plenty of anxiety amongst the coaching staff and team as they awaited the official bracket. HPU finished with the seventh-best KPI and RPI in the West Region, putting together a resume worthy of the program’s second-ever at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and third-ever appearance.

“Elated and pretty relieved,” third-year head coach Jesse Nakanishi said of the emotions immediately following the selection. “It was a really good season, some highs and lows, but the highs far outweighed the lows. We were able to have some big victories with West Region teams and PacWest teams to really improve our resume and have a national caliber resume.”

Nakanishi was an assistant coach on the 2016-17 Hawaii Pacific squad, the most successful Sharks team since the school moved up from the NAIA to NCAA Division II in 1998. The only other team in Sharks history to receive an invite to the national tournament as a D2 program was the 1998-99 team that lost to Seattle Pacific in the opening round.

That 2017 run saw a PacWest regular season and tournament title go to the Sharks before they downed Sonoma State by 12 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. HPU fell by three points in the Round of 32 against Chico State, who beat the West Region’s top three seeds that year on the way to an Elite 8 appearance.

Nakanishi admits he’s made references about that 2016-17 team and run throughout this year’s campaign, both to the team and to his staff. In just his third year captaining the ship after longtime head coach Darren Vorderbruegge retired following the 2022-23 season, Nakanishi already has put together two PacWest tournament appearances and secured an NCAA Tournament invite.

“Coach V did such a great job of building the program and having it be a process and getting better and better each year, and then we had that culminating year in 2017,” Nakanishi said. “Years leading up to that, we had 20-win seasons and [kept] growing and growing and that’s what I’m trying to do with this program.”

Hawaii Pacific took on and took down Saint Martin’s back on November 18 in Mānoa, handing the Saints an 88-75 loss inside the Shark Tank for the team’s 2026 home opener. Four different Sharks finished in double figures, led by Joshua West’s 20-point, 8-rebound outburst.

HPU celebrates after taking down Saint Martin’s on November 18. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Asked about what he remembered from that mid-November matchup with Saint Martin’s, the all-PacWest 1st-team guard West heaped praise on HPU’s first round opponent.

“Well coached team, talented team,” West said of the Saints. “Just because we beat them once, that doesn’t mean that it’ll come easy again so we’re not taking the game for granted. We respect them, they’re the number two seed for a reason.”

Nakanishi was similarly quick to point out the lack of impact that the previous result against Saint Martin’s would have in the upcoming matchup, pointing out the time between meetings and amount that each team had grown and evolved since. He also pointed out that getting the Saints on the schedule was purposeful for the Sharks’ postseason aspirations.

“Having that game on our schedule and being able to come away with that victory early on in the season, I knew it would come into play for West Region ranks and sure enough, it did,” Nakanishi stated. “My philosophy is schedule as hard as you can, and then you’ve got to go win some of those very difficult games.”

Saint Martin’s has won eight of the last nine and six games in a row heading into the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. The Saints won their first-ever GNAC championship last weekend after claiming the conference’s regular season crown with a 15-3 record in league play.

“It’s going to be an extremely daunting challenge, but we’re up for it,” Nakanishi said.

Hawaii Pacific will travel to Cal State East Bay, the top seed and host in the West Region, to take on Saint Martin’s on Friday, March 13 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner will advance to face the victor between No. 3 Point Loma and No. 6 Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

Opening tipoff time is TBA.

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Long distance barrage helps Point Loma hammer Hawaii Pacific in PacWest semifinals

Long distance barrage helps Point Loma hammer Hawaii Pacific in PacWest semifinals

Mar 6, 2026

Long distance barrage helps Point Loma hammer Hawaii Pacific in PacWest semifinals

HPU head coach Jesse Nakanishi pleads his case with an official during a home contest. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Raining threes on the Sharks’ parade.

The No. 4-seeded Hawaii Pacific University men’s basketball team saw their PacWest Tournament title hopes flame out on Friday afternoon, falling to No. 1 Point Loma (24-5) in the conference semifinals, 95-66.

Six different Sea Lions finished in double figures in the win, led by all-PacWest 1st-team selection Jaden Matingou’s 20 points and seven assists. Redshirt junior guard Caden Harris tacked on 17 points for PLNU while all-PacWest 3rd-teamer Andrew Hommes drilled all four of his 3-pointers in a 12-point outing that went along with three rejections.

The top-seeded team in the tournament playing in their home gym, Point Loma matched a season-high in made 3-pointers as they bludgeoned HPU in the semifinal rubber match. The Sea Lions shot better than 53% from the floor as a group while draining 16-of-31 attempts from behind the arc.

A hot start by Hommes helped the hosts out to a 16-7 lead over the Sharks before graduate forward Josh Niusulu powered HPU out of a scoring drought with a pair of strong interior finishes and his lone 3-pointer of the afternoon to make it a 23-17 game with 10:57 left in the first half.

Nemanja Sarenac swished his only triple of the game right after to pull the Sharks within three, but that was the closest that Hawaii Pacific could get as the Sea Lions sizzled off a 31-8 run to go into the break leading by 26.

Point Loma torched the HPU defense, shooting 68% from the field while connecting on 8-of-13 from distance in the first half. The Sea Lions also drilled 12-of-14 attempts from the charity stripe, getting four different rotation players into foul trouble for HPU before the break.

Hawaii Pacific opened the second half with a 6-0 run, but three consecutive turnovers quickly killed the momentum right after as PLNU pushed the margin back over 25 by the under-16 media timeout.

Avi Halpert tried to spur one more rally for HPU, but a pair of Jake Lifgren triples sandwiching Tyce Paulsen’s final 3-pointer of the day pushed the lead over 30 for the Sea Lions and sent the game into garbage time early.

Josh Niusulu led the effort for HPU in the loss, scoring 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting in 22 minutes of action as he dealt with foul trouble throughout the day. Quinton McCullough and Kemp Van Es each added 10 points for the Sharks while Quentin Meza and Joshua West were each held to eight points on a combined 4-for-13 shooting from the floor.

Kahiau Bruhn tacked on seven points, hitting all three shots from the field while grabbing a pair of rebounds in nine minutes off the bench.

Top-seeded Point Loma advances to a fourth consecutive PacWest Tournament championship game to face No. 2 Westmont on Saturday at 12 p.m. HT/2 p.m. PT in San Diego. The Sea Lions are the defending conference champions and have won four of the last five PacWest Tournament crowns.

Hawaii Pacific (18-11) will have to wait until Sunday, March 8 to see what their fate is when it gets revealed during the 2026 NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball championship selection show. The Sharks were the No. 7 team in the final West Region ranking before the postseason while Point Loma checked in at No. 3 and Westmont at No. 9 on the same list.

The winner of Point Loma-Westmont will receive the PacWest’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. The CCAA and GNAC tournament champions will also each receive an auto-bid to the national tournament with the final five at-large spots going to the top teams in the final regional ranking.

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Hawaii Pacific holds off Vanguard in PacWest quarterfinals

Hawaii Pacific holds off Vanguard in PacWest quarterfinals

Mar 5, 2026

Hawaii Pacific holds off Vanguard in PacWest quarterfinals

HPU’s bench cheers on during a home victory. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

 

Who wins when you pit Lions versus Sharks?

The No. 4-seeded Hawaii Pacific University men’s basketball team used a big second half start to down No. 5-seed Vanguard inside Golden Gymnasium on Thursday afternoon, advancing from the PacWest quarterfinals with a 64-59 victory over the Lions.

Senior guard Joshua West turned in his second double-double of the year to power the Sharks to their first postseason victory since 2017, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to go along with five assists, two steals and a pair of blocks in 35 minutes of action.

Senior forward Quinton McCullough followed along with a 15-point, 10-rebound performance of his own, registering his third double-double of the season and first since December 2 in a loss against Chaminade.

A slow start from the floor by HPU allowed the Lions to take a slim one-point advantage as all-PacWest selections Quentin Meza and Joshua West failed to make a field goal over the opening 15 minutes. Helped by a perfect performance at the charity stripe, the Sharks remained within striking distance while the two standout guards figured out the Vanguard defense.

West finished the first half with a bang (and a bank) as he sliced to the rim for a layup to give HPU the lead with 4:16 left before the half and followed it up with an assist to a wide-open Nemanja Sarenac for three and a banked-in 3-pointer himself to send the Sharks into the break in front, 31-29.

McCullough and West took turns scoring for HPU when play resumed, helping the No. 4 seed maintain a three-point advantage after five minutes of second half action. The Sharks shot the lead to 10 as Quentin Meza got in on the fun with his first 3-pointer of the afternoon before Maj Dusanic followed it up with an and-one to put HPU ahead double figures in a game that previously hadn’t seen either side lead by more than three.

The Sharks maintained a 10-point advantage until the PacWest’s leading scorer Erik Howlin took over for the Lions and scored seven straight points to make it a 55-52 game with 5:22 remaining.

After a timeout to slow the momentum of the Lions, HPU got a much-needed shot in the arm with Meza’s second 3-pointer of the day and a wild finish by West to go back up by seven with four minutes to play.

West’s bucket would be the final field goal for Hawaii Pacific over the final four minutes. McCullough and West drilled all four free throw attempts late to ice the win despite a late push from Howlin and the Lions.

Howlin finished as the lone scorer in double figures for Vanguard, dropping a game-high 26 points in the loss as he went 11-for-11 at the free throw line. Bryson Metz and Sammy Howlin each added nine points for the Lions, who shot under 32% from the field after halftime.

Hawaii Pacific won the battle on the glass, 35-29, while forcing 10 turnovers and giving the ball away 13 times. The Sharks were a perfect 15-for-15 at the charity stripe in the win, the first time this season they’ve gone an entire game without a single missed free throw.

Hawaii Pacific advances to Friday’s PacWest semifinal round, facing off against tournament host and top-seeded Point Loma at 12:45 p.m. HT/2:45 pm. PT. The Sharks and Sea Lions split their two regular season meetings, each winning on the other’s home floor in February.

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Hawaii Pacific guards West, Meza earn All-PacWest honors for Sharks

Hawaii Pacific guards West, Meza earn All-PacWest honors for Sharks

Mar 5, 2026

Hawaii Pacific guards West, Meza earn All-PacWest honors for Sharks

HPU guards Joshua West (4) and Quentin Meza (3) share a high five during a home contest in the Shark Tank. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

HONOLULU – Dynamic duo in the backcourt.

Hawaii Pacific University guards Joshua West and Quentin Meza became the second pair of Sharks in head coach Jesse Nakanishi’s three seasons to earn all-PacWest honors on Wednesday, seeing West named to the conference’s 1st-team while Meza earned 2nd-team honors in his first season in the islands.

It’s West’s second All-PacWest selection in two seasons with the Sharks. The 6-foot-3 guard from Chicago, Ill., led the Sharks in scoring as he averaged the fourth-most points per game in the conference this year with 17.0 points per night. West also racked up 1.9 steals per game, tied for third-most per contest in the PacWest.

He also became the first Shark to earn a place on the All-PacWest 1st-Team since Niksha Federico did it back in the 2017-18 season.

“His story is just amazing,” head coach Jesse Nakanishi said about his star senior guard. “The steps he’s taken [as a player] after betting on himself in so many ways have been awesome.”

Meza earned a spot on the All-PacWest 2nd-team after averaging 16.1 points and 3.4 assists per game in his first season with the Sharks, ranking among the top 10 players in the conference for both categories. The 6-foot guard scored 10 or more points in 16 of the Sharks’ final 17 games of the regular season, including a 30-point explosion to help HPU to a road win over Vanguard on January 31.

The junior also became the first player in head coach Jesse Nakanishi’s three-year tenure to win multiple conference Player of the Week awards, earning PacWest POTW honors in both November and the end of January for a few scoring explosions that helped the Sharks to winning weeks.

“He grabbed this opportunity by the horns and just ran with it,” Nakanishi said about Meza’s impact in his debut season in the islands. “He gets to play with a lot of freedom, and we believe in him a lot to take big shots.”

The Hawaii Pacific University men’s basketball team returns to the PacWest Tournament on Thursday as the No. 4 seed, taking on No. 5 Vanguard in the quarterfinals with a date against top-seeded Point Loma awaiting the winner. The Sharks were placed seventh in the most recent NCAA West Region rankings as teams jockey for at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament.

Tip-off between the Lions and Sharks on Thursday is at 12:45 p.m. HT/2:45 p.m. PT and can be seen on the PacWest Network.

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