Joshua Walker Returns Home as Hawai‘i Names New Rainbow Wahine Volleyball Head Coach

Joshua Walker Returns Home as Hawai‘i Names New Rainbow Wahine Volleyball Head Coach

Jun 5, 2026

Joshua Walker Returns Home as Hawai‘i Names New Rainbow Wahine Volleyball Head Coach

HONOLULU — The University of Hawai‘i has turned to one of its own to lead one of the most storied programs in college volleyball.

Athletics Director Matt Elliott announced Friday that former Rainbow Warrior All-American and national championship-winning assistant coach Joshua Walker has been selected as the fourth head coach in Rainbow Wahine volleyball history.

Walker returns to Mānoa after spending the last four seasons at Baylor, where he helped guide the Bears to multiple NCAA Tournament appearances and establish one of the nation’s top recruiting classes. The move brings back a coach deeply connected to Hawai‘i volleyball, both as a player and coach, at a pivotal moment for the program.

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Joshua Walker back to the University of Hawai‘i,” Elliott said. “Joshua embodies the very best of Hawai‘i volleyball tradition and knows firsthand what it takes to win at the highest level here.”

The hire concludes after a nationwide search that Elliott described as unique due to the timing of the opening. With many programs and coaches already deep into recruiting and summer preparation, the process relied much more heavily on direct conversations rather than with a traditional pool of applicants.

“We had to be persistent, patient and stay committed to what was right for UH,” Elliott said during Friday’s media availability. “Ultimately, we ended in a fantastic place.”

Walker becomes just the fourth head coach in the 50-year history of the Rainbow Wahine program, taking over the helm of one of the most tradition-rich legacy program in collegiate athletics.

According to Elliott, the search committee prioritized finding someone who understood the history of Hawai‘i volleyball, could navigate today’s rapidly evolving recruiting and NIL landscape and possessed a championship-level vision for the future.

“Joshua has won national championships, he’s been an All-American, he’s seen it at the highest level,” Elliott said. “He’s got a plan, and that is really the most important thing.”

A Familiar Face Returns

For Hawai‘i fans, Walker’s return goes far beyond his impressive résumé.

A Rainbow Warrior standout from 2006-11, Walker is one of the men’s program’s all-time greats. His 1,428 career kills rank fifth in school history, even earning AVCA All-America honors as a junior to go along with multiple All-MPSF selections.

After playing professionally in Europe and with Team USA, Walker returned to UH as an assistant coach under Charlie Wade in 2016. During his seven seasons on staff, Hawai‘i posted a 149-36 record and captured back-to-back NCAA National Championships in 2021 and 2022. He was named AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year in 2019.

Walker later joined Baylor’s women’s volleyball program, eventually rising to the associate head coach chair while helping the Bears maintain national contender status.

His experience also extends internationally. Most recently, Walker helped guide USA Volleyball’s U17 National Team to a gold medal at the 2026 Pan-American Cup with a 4-0 record.

“I feel extremely blessed and thankful for this opportunity,” Walker said in a press release from the school. “Hawai‘i has been home for a while, but I love that it gets to be our workplace again. I’m excited to get going and will work to make this program truly one of a kind.”

Strong Support Across Volleyball

Walker’s hiring elicited an overwhelmingly positive reaction from coaches, players and fans throughout the volleyball community.

Wade, who coached Walker as a player before welcoming him on staff as an assistant coach, called the move a dream realized.

“Josh was a special player and a special coach for our program,” Wade said. “I know this was one of his dreams when he left our team. He was a huge part of our success while he was on staff with us.”

Legendary former Rainbow Wahine coach Dave Shoji praised the selection as well.

“Josh is an excellent choice to lead the Rainbow Wahine,” the retired Shoji said. “He’s familiar with the landscape, he is a tremendous mentor to his athletes, and he knows the game inside and out.”

Baylor head coach Ryan McGuyre described Walker as “the perfect hire for Hawaii,” while citing his integrity, leadership, and ability to build relationships while developing championship-caliber programs.

Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott echoed the sentiments, calling Walker “the perfect person to lead the program into its next chapter” largely because of his understanding of Hawai‘i’s culture, tradition, and expectations.

Looking Ahead

Walker officially began his tenure already, with Elliott noting that the new coach was eager to get started.

“As of tomorrow, it’s his team,” Elliott said. “I want the start date to be tomorrow because I’m ready to go, I’m ready to recruit.”

The timing is critical as Hawai‘i prepares for the upcoming transition into the Mountain West Conference and continues navigating an increasingly competitive collegiate recruiting environment.

Elliott said Walker’s recent experience coaching at the highest levels of women’s volleyball made him particularly attractive for the position.

“He fully understands the NIL landscape and knows the nuances of what it means to be recruiting,” Elliott said. “Whether it’s domestic or international, retaining a roster—he understands how to do that.”

Walker returns to Hawai‘i alongside his wife Tehane, a former Rainbow Wahine soccer standout, and their five children.

For a program built on tradition, championships, and community, the Rainbow Wahine are placing their future in the hands of someone who understands all three.

And for Walker, it is a return to the place he has long called home.

CSUN steals Senior Night win in Hawai’i behind Christopher’s complete game

CSUN steals Senior Night win in Hawai’i behind Christopher’s complete game

May 16, 2026

CSUN steals Senior Night win in Hawai’i behind Christopher’s complete game

Hawai’i INF Taylor Takata smacks one of his three hits on Senior Night. | Photo Credit: Riley Guillermo, HSRN

HONOLULU – On a night meant to celebrate 17 seniors from the University of Hawai’i, it was a CSUN senior that stole the show.

Matadors’ senior right-hander Adam Christopher (4-3) spun a gem in his final collegiate outing, dealing out 120 pitches and giving up just one run on six hits in a complete game victory to help CSUN (25-28, 12-18 Big West) spoil Hawai’i’s Senior Night celebrations on Friday, 8-1.

Christopher struck out 12 batters and only walked one, limiting a Rainbow Warrior offense that had put up 11 runs on 19 hits in the previous two days against the Matadors to a single score in the 5th inning and six total hits.

With two victories already in hand against CSUN, Hawai’i (27-22, 16-14 Big West) clinched the fourth seed in next week’s conference tournament entering Friday night and did not have a chance to move up or down in the final standings regardless of the result in the season finale against the Matadors.

The Rainbow Warriors took the opportunity to put a plethora of the 17 departing seniors on display at Les Murakami Stadium one last time, getting a majority of the group into the game for at least one full inning.

“Senior Night is always an emotional night,” head coach Rich Hill said following the Rainbow Warrior regular season wrapping up. “Tonight, we had an opportunity to showcase [the seniors] and they had an opportunity to showcase themselves in front of family, friends and the great fans of Hawai’i.”

Hawai’i’s Class of 2026 seniors pose together at Les Murakami Stadium one last time. | Photo Credit: Riley Guillermo, HSRN

Despite having seven senior options to start, standout freshman hurler Brody Martin-Grudzielanek was tabbed to take the ball to begin on Friday night. The 6-foot-5 righty pitched a pair of scoreless innings, facing the minimum six batters and picking up a strikeout before handing the ball over to sophomore Grant Garman in the third.

Garman was greeted by a solo homerun from CSUN’s Will Linberg, putting the Matadors ahead for the first time all weekend after being held scoreless over the first two games of the series. The sophomore southpaw settled in afterwards, only walking one while retiring the other six batters that he faced in his two innings of work.

Liam O’Brien was the first of five seniors to pitch for Hawai’i on the night, giving up a run on a hit and two walks while striking out one in his lone inning of work. Saul Soto followed, struggling slightly with command and soft contact luck as he allowed three runs in 0.2 innings of action.

Dylan Waite, a Baldwin HS alum from Wailuku, Maui, dazzled in his 1.1 innings of work, getting out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the top of the sixth before striking out the side in the seventh to match his career high with three strikeouts out of the bullpen.

Josiah Shipley was tabbed for three more runs (2 ER) in the top of the eighth after hitting a batter, walking another and giving up two base knocks in 0.2 innings. Zacary Tenn helped extinguish the flames in the eighth, inducing a flyout to end the inning before giving way to the final senior of the night, Ryan Inouye.

Inouye, a side-winding right-hander from Kailua who spent the past three seasons at Division II as the closer for Hawaii Pacific, gave up a single immediately after entering but recovered quickly with his lone strikeout of the night and wrapped up the 9th without any damage.

Senior outfielder Gabe Wright had the lone RBI on the night for Hawai’i, driving in fellow senior Taylor Takata in the bottom of the 5th with an infield single. Takata enjoyed an excellent final night in the Les, going 3-for-3 while scoring the lone run for the Rainbow Warriors.

Hawai’i INF Taylor Takata crosses home plate on Senior Night. | Photo Credit: Riley Guillermo, HSRN

With a spot in the opening round elimination game already locked in, Hawai’i awaits an opponent with the fifth and final spot in the Big West Championship still up for grabs. Cal State Fullerton needs a victory on Saturday against UC San Diego to clinch the last invite to the postseason party.

A loss by the Titans would result in a tie in the standings between CSUF and UC Davis, resulting in the Aggies clinching the final spot in the Big West Championship by virtue of tiebreakers.

Hawai’i will take Saturday off for the school’s graduation before getting back to practice on Sunday. The Rainbow Warriors leave for the continent on Monday and will have time for a practice on Tuesday before kicking off the 2026 Big West Championship in Irvine, California on Wednesday.

“We’ll be ready,” said Hill ahead of the postseason. “We’ve got a really good schedule that just worked out … so yeah, we’ll be ready.”

PHOTOS BY RILEY GUILLERMO

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Hawai’i accelerates to national title over UC Irvine, completes climb to coronation

Hawai’i accelerates to national title over UC Irvine, completes climb to coronation

May 11, 2026

Hawai’i accelerates to national title over UC Irvine, completes climb to coronation

The 2026 men’s volleyball national champion University of Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors. | Photo Credit: Brian Bautista

The journey connects back to July 2022.

The University of Hawai’i just wrapped up back-to-back national championship victories behind all-time program great Jakob Thelle, and head coach Charlie Wade had secured the heir to the star setter’s throne with the commitment of a 6-foot-7 high schooler by the name of Tread Rosenthal.

“He said – Coach, let’s do this. I’m going to come there and we’re going to win championships together,” Wade recounted of junior national team setter’s commitment call back in 2022.

Hawai’i went on to win a then-program-record 29 matches in 2023 but came up short of becoming the second program to ever complete a national championship three-peat as they fell in four frames in the final against UCLA in Fairfax, Virginia to cap off Thelle’s senior campaign.

Rosenthal grew an inch taller and reclassified, joining Hawai’i early ahead of the 2024 season as a 17-year-old with a beat on the starting setter position for a national title contender. A young Frenchman named Louis Sakanoko stood alongside him as the Rainbow Warriors reloaded with a talented but youthful recruiting class.

They had just one goal: return Hawai’i to the top of the college volleyball mountain.

That extended climb back to the summit wrapped up three seasons later in Los Angeles, seeing Hawai’i (30-5) shake off a nightmare start for a four-set victory over Big West rival UC Irvine (21-9) in the 2026 NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship on Monday night, (15-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-20).

Tread Rosenthal celebrates after a point during the 2026 NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship against UC Irvine. | Photo Credit: Brian Bautista

Rosenthal, who played through a groin injury suffered late in UH’s semifinal victory over Long Beach State, racked up 44 assists, six digs, three blocks and three kills and served as the emotional spark for the Rainbow Warriors after a sloppy opening frame on the way to earning all-tournament team honors.

“I think we’re just a more mature team this year,” said the junior after Hawai’i’s return to the top. “You saw that exact same first set last year against UCLA and we couldn’t come back from it … You saw a different team this year, just understand that we’re okay and we’ve got three more sets of volleyball that we can win.”

Sakanoko, who revealed after the victory that he’d suffered a torn ligament in the regional final round against USC and played through the pain, was named the NCAA Tournament MVP following his 12-kill, three-ace performance on .500 hitting in the championship match. A run of three consecutive aces from Sakanoko put the Rainbow Warriors ahead for good in the fourth set, finishing off a tidal wave performance by Hawai’i’s team to claim the title.

Hawaii OH Louis Sakanoko places Hawai’i’s name on the champion spot for the 2026 NCAA Men’s Volleyball Tournament bracket. | Photo Credit: Brian Bautista

It was not a completely perfect script for UH. They committed seven attacking errors and had five more miscues from behind the service line in a disaster first set on Monday against the Anteaters, folding for a 10-point thrashing in the first game of the best-of-five national championship.

Rosenthal helped awaken the sleepwalking Rainbow Warriors, hammering home a couple of overpasses from UCI in the follow-up frame as UH raced out to a 10-5 advantage in the second set.

Sophomore standouts Adrien Roure and Kristian Titriyski powered up, totaling nine kills each by the end of the encore frame to help Hawai’i even the match and make the national championship into a best-of-three series. Roure finished the night with 15 kills, just behind Titriyski (16) for Hawai’i’s highest output.

UCI and UH wrestled through the opening 20 points of the third, seeing the Rainbow Warriors snag an 11-9 lead to force an early timeout from the Anteaters in the swing frame.

Hawai’i stayed hot through the stoppage, swinging at a .458 clip in the third set to take a 2-1 advantage over UC Irvine and place themselves on the doorstep of the program’s third national title.

The Rainbow Warriors capped off the climb to a collegiate men’s volleyball coronation with their best set of the evening, hitting a match-high .538 as a team to bury the Anteaters’ hopes of a storybook finish from last-team-in to last-team-standing.

Titriyski’s 16 kills led all players for either team, also seeing a pair of UH’s nine service aces come off the powerful right-handed swing from the Bulgarian as he earned all-tournament team honors alongside Rosenthal.

Middle blockers Justin Todd and Trevell Jordan combined for 12 kills and only two errors on 17 swings, providing a steady presence for the freight train of momentum that helped carry UH towards the title.

Monday marked an alignment of stars, both cosmically and on the court, for UH. With Rosenthal approaching the final pages in the Rainbow Warrior chapter of his career, he finally got the chance to make good on his phoned promise to Wade nearly four years ago.

There were plenty of bumps and bruises along the way, but life has a funny way of foreshadowing.

His freshman campaign came crashing down in mid-March when star outside hitter Spyros Chakas tore his ACL in the finale of the 2024 OUTRIGGER Invitational.

Hawai’i’s opponent? The Anteaters.

UC Irvine again stood in the way when the 2024 Big West Tournament came around, mercifully ending the season of the wounded Rainbow Warriors in the conference semifinals.

It sent Rosenthal’s iteration of the program back to the drawing board with an entirely new cast of faces from the last national title team, now forced to figure out the return path to the podium.

Rosenthal and the Rainbow Warriors broke back through in 2025, capturing the crown in the Big West Championship with four-set finishes against both UCI and Long Beach State in front of a pair of packed houses inside the Stan Sheriff Center.

Returning to the national tournament, Hawai’i handled Penn State in the 2025 national quarterfinal round before UCLA sent them home from Ohio to Oahu without any more hardware with a loss in the national semifinal.

When you look back at the lead-up, was there really any other way the fairytale to end?

Inside the home of the team that knocked out last year’s Rainbow Warrior squad, the 2026 version of Hawai’i happily earned the right to hang another banner in Mānoa with a full-circle finish against the program that pushed them into a championship rebirth.

So don’t be afraid savor it, soak it in like the sunshine.

Hawai’i’s team stands alone amongst them all.

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Beach Closed: ‘Bows bounce Long Beach State to advance to national championship

Beach Closed: ‘Bows bounce Long Beach State to advance to national championship

May 9, 2026

Beach Closed: ‘Bows bounce Long Beach State to advance to national championship

Hawai’i opposite Kainoa Wade flashes a heart toward the crowd during an away match against Long Beach State. | Photo Credit: Brock Jones (@brockhawaii)

Shakas up.

Two weeks after falling in the Big West tournament final and watching LBSU freshman star Wojciech Gajek hit the “double shakas down” emote at the Rainbow Warrior fans in attendance, the University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team exacted revenge on Long Beach State.

The Rainbow Warriors advanced to the national championship game for the first time since 2023 on Saturday evening with a four-set victory over the Beach in the national semifinals at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, 25-15, 18-25, 25-21, 25-22. It’s the program’s seventh appearance in the NCAA Championship match and fifth under head coach Charlie Wade.

“Our lives are so intertwined,” Wade said about LBSU to open his postgame comments. “We’re always playing in these really meaningful matches, whether it’s in the league championship or the national championship tournament and even our league games are always two top-ranked teams [with] high drama, really important matches … Hats off to [Long Beach] and thrilled to advance to the final.”

Kristian Titriyski, Louis Sakanoko and Adrien Roure each finished with double digits kills, led by 14 from the Bulgarian opposite. Sakanoko smashed down 12 kills while Roure racked up 10 of his own as all three hit above .280 for the Rainbow Warriors on the way to eliminating the defending national champions from a chance at repeating.

After missing the previous matchup with the Beach with a lower leg injury, redshirt sophomore Justin Todd returned with a fury in the fourth matchup of the season as he racked up a career-best 10 total blocks while chipping in four kills on eight attempts.

“I wanted to show what I could do against Long Beach,” Todd said about returning after his absence in the Big West title game. “Our team does an amazing job, but I wanted to contribute.”

Gajek, who had a career-high 27 kills against Hawai’i along with his double-shaka-down salute in the Big West Championship match, was held in check by the Rainbow Warriors as the Polish opposite hit just .071 with nearly as many attacking errors (9) as total kills (11).

“I think everyone took it a little personally in Hawai’i, what he did,” said Louis Sakanoko in reference to Gajek’s hand gesture in the conference tournament. “Even if he didn’t mean to do that, everyone took it personally. So that’s a little way to send it back in a classy way.”

Hawai’i looked like men on a mission in the opening set, hitting .529 as a group with only one attacking miscue as the No. 2 seed took the frame comfortably, 25-15.

Long Beach State returned serve in the encore stanza as they hit a team-best .333 in the frame, getting a pair of the six total service aces to help to a 25-18 decision over the Rainbow Warriors.

Hawai’i got another assist from the Beach in the swing set as LBSU committed 16 errors (5 ATK, 6 SE, 2 RE and 3 BE) in the third. After committing six attacking errors in the previous frame, UH bounced back with only three mistake swings in the important frame to pull within one more set victory of a national title appearance.

Long Beach State slugged back in the must-have fourth set, taking a 15-12 lead at the media timeout with eyes on forcing a fifth frame against Hawai’i for the third time in four matchups this season.

The Rainbow Warriors had other plans.

Service runs from Sakanoko and sophomore Kainoa Wade helped Hawai’i draw even at 20, setting up a race to five between the regular season and conference tournament Big West champions.

Five of the final seven rallies went in favor of the Rainbow Warriors, seeing Titriyski thrash his 14th kill off a solo block attempt to wrap up the return to the national title match stage for Hawai’i.

Tread Rosenthal had 36 assists, five digs and five total blocks for the Rainbow Warriors, fighting through obvious discomfort over the final two frames after slipping and suffering an apparent injury near the conclusion of the third set. The 6-foot-11 setter also added a pair of aces and two kills as he helped Hawai’i break through to the NCAA Championship match for the first time in his career.

UC Irvine dealt with No. 4 Ball State in the first NCAA semifinal match of the day at Pauley Pavilion, seeing the Anteaters advance after four sets as well to set up an all-Big West national championship.

UCI (21-8, 5-5 Big West) has won four of five matches since the regular season concluded, including three straight to send the Anteaters to the national championship for the first time since 2013. Hawai’i won both regular season meetings against UC Irvine, outlasting the Anteaters in five sets before sweeping them the following the night at the start of April.

Hawai’i and UC Irvine will clash on Monday at 1 p.m. HT with rights to the national title on the line. A victory would deliver the third national championship in program history for the Rainbow Warriors while the Anteaters search for the fifth national crown and first in 13 years.

“We’ve said from the beginning that since inception, the Big West is the strongest men’s volleyball [conference],” stated Wade. “This is the third time that two Big West teams will be playing in the final … we’re very fortunate that volleyball’s a big deal in the Big West. They do a lot to give us the platform to play at the highest level and I think that’s recognized, not only across the country but around the world.”

Hawai’i matched a program record on Saturday night with the 29th win of the season, tied for the most in a single campaign by any Rainbow Warrior team ever.

There’s no better way for the first 30-win season in program history.

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UH Athletics NIL Bill Fails Final Senate Vote

UH Athletics NIL Bill Fails Final Senate Vote

May 9, 2026

UH Athletics NIL Bill Fails Final Senate Vote

Updated May 13, 2026

Just one week after conference committee members described SB 3263 as a “win-win situation” for University of Hawai‘i student-athletes, the measure failed to pass final reading in the Hawai‘i State Senate on Friday in a dramatic reversal that effectively halts the latest effort to establish a state-supported NIL framework tied to UH Athletics.

SB 3263 SD2 HD3 CD1 — one of the most closely watched collegiate athletics bills of the 2026 legislative session — failed on final Senate reading by a vote of 11-12, with two senators excused.

The final Senate vote against the bill were Senators Donovan Dela Cruz, Donna Mercado Kim, Troy Hashimoto, Samantha DeCorte, Brandon Elefante, Kurt Fevella, Mike Gabbard, Lorraine Inouye, Michelle Kidani, Glenn Wakai, Rachele Lamosao, and Sharon Moriwaki. Senators McKelvey and San Buenaventura were excused.

The outcome marked a notable shift from the May 1 conference committee hearing, where Senate conferees advanced the compromise version of the bill unanimously among voting members.

At that hearing, Senator Donna Mercado Kim praised the agreement after weeks of negotiations between lawmakers.

“I’m just glad that we were able to support our student athletes. I think this is a win-win situation for everybody.”

Conference committee records show Senators Mercado Kim, Hashimoto, and DeCorte all voted “Aye” in support of advancing the conference draft on May 1 before later voting against the bill at final reading on May 8.

Beyond its financial components, SB 3263 was also designed to establish Hawai‘i’s broader legal and operational NIL framework for University of Hawai‘i student-athletes.

According to the bill language, the measure would have formally affirmed the rights of student-athletes to participate in NIL activities while requiring UH to adopt policies governing institutional NIL agreements consistent with NCAA rules, federal law, and Title IX requirements. The bill also aimed to establish transparency standards, accountability measures, and educational protections for student-athletes entering NIL agreements.

The latest conference draft proposed a framework that included $2.5 million appropriated by the legislature along with a transfer of $4 million from University of Hawai‘i tuition and fees special fund to support NIL-related initiatives connected to UH Athletics. The measure represented a substantially revised version of earlier NIL legislation debated throughout the session, including negotiations surrounding endowment structures, oversight provisions, and funding mechanisms.

The sudden reversal came with limited floor discussion during final reading, though Senator Donovan Dela Cruz spoke in opposition before the vote and read portions of a letter he said came from the University of Hawai‘i Vice President for Budget and Finance following discussions between legislative finance and higher education leaders.

Donovan Dela Cruz speaks in opposition to SB 3263 during final Senate reading on May 8, 2026, reading portions of a letter from the University of Hawai‘i Vice President for Budget and Finance expressing concerns with the proposal.

During floor remarks, Dela Cruz read:

“We cannot proceed with the current proposal…”

He continued by reading the university’s concerns regarding “a state-funded endowment for name, image, and likeness” and said the university believed the proposal created legal and fiscal challenges it “cannot overcome.”

According to Dela Cruz, the letter also stated:

“We must respectfully request a deferral…”

The senator additionally noted on the floor that UH currently has “at least $411 million” within its tuition and fees special fund while arguing against the bill’s structure.

Update: UH Clarifies Position on SB 3263

Following publication, Hawai‘i Sports Radio Network received additional clarification from the University of Hawai‘i regarding SB 3263 and the concerns referenced on the Senate floor before the bill’s final vote.

According to UH, during the conference committee process the university shared concerns that the proposed endowment structure alone would not fully address the immediate need for NIL funding. Lawmakers then asked UH to formally outline those concerns in writing.

“The bill was ultimately amended to include $1.5 million for next year and UH supported the measure.

The university was surprised when an earlier version of UH’s concerns was read aloud before the Senate voted on and ultimately voted against the bill.”

UH emphasized that SB 3263 was not a university-introduced measure, noting that the bill originated in the Senate.

The university also noted that the House version of the state budget included the $5 million in NIL funding UH had requested, though that funding did not survive into the final budget draft.

UH added that while the legislative session has concluded, discussions regarding long-term athletics support are expected to continue moving forward.

Senate President Ron Kouchi announces the failure of SB 3263 during final Senate reading on May 8, 2026, after the UH Athletics NIL measure fell short of the votes needed for passage.

The failure of SB 3263 represents a significant setback for supporters who viewed the measure as a pathway for Hawai‘i to remain competitive in the rapidly evolving NIL era of college athletics.

Supporters had argued the bill would help UH Athletics address mounting financial pressures and recruiting realities as schools nationwide continue adapting to NIL and revenue-sharing changes, while also finally establishing a formal NIL structure and policy framework specific to Hawai‘i.

Instead, the measure now ends with one of the more unusual late-session reversals of the legislative year — a bill that successfully cleared conference committee only to lose enough Senate support days later to fail final passage.

Hawai‘i Sports Radio Network has requested a copy of the letter referenced by Senator Dela Cruz during floor debate and has also reached out to Senators Mercado Kim, Hashimoto, and DeCorte seeking comment regarding their change in vote between conference committee and final reading.

Gibson Johnson elevated to associate HC role among handful of Hawai’i coaching moves

Gibson Johnson elevated to associate HC role among handful of Hawai’i coaching moves

May 8, 2026

Gibson Johnson elevated to associate HC role among handful of Hawai’i coaching moves

Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

HONOLULU – Stop the music, the chairs are filled.

The University of Hawai’i announced a smattering of men’s basketball coaching moves on Friday, headlined by the elevation of current assistant coach Gibson Johnson to associate head coach.

After the departures of Brad Davidson (USC) and Rob Jones (Saint Mary’s) from last season’s Big West champion coaching staff left big holes on the bench, the Rainbow Warriors supplemented the coaching cadre by bringing a trio of familiar faces back to the program with Adam Jacobsen, John Montgomery and Noah Allen being added in assistant coaching roles.

A former standout for the Rainbow Warriors, Johnson has held a handful of different titles for his alma mater since his playing days ended, all the way up to the second chair for Hawai’i. The 6-foot-8 forward was a captain in both seasons at UH and returned to the bench as a graduate assistant from 2019 through 2021. He was promoted to Director of Player Development for the 2021-22 season and spent the following two campaigns at Utah Tech.

Johnson came back to the islands again in 2024, spending the past two years as an assistant coach with more responsibility on his plate. Tasked with defensive coordinator duties, additional scouting and practice planning and rebounding, Johnson also took a larger role in recruiting in his most recent stint at UH as he took the lead on recruiting recent Rainbow Warriors in Tanner Christensen, Hunter Erickson, Isaac Finlinson and Isaac “Big Fish” Johnson, among others.

The first of the three familiar faces joining Eran Ganot’s staff in 2026-27, Jacobsen comes back to the islands after spending the past two seasons with WAC powerhouse Utah Valley. He helped the Wolverines go 50-18 over his two-year tenure as an assistant coach.

Jacobsen spent 2019 through 2023 at Cal Baptist as an assistant, helping the Lancers finish above .500 in all four seasons while still in the infancy stages of moving up into Division I competition. Before CBU, he spent four seasons as the associate head coach at UH at the start of Ganot’s tenure.

According to UH’s website, Jacobsen wore the hats of recruiting, offensive and shooting coordinator in his four years with the Rainbow Warriors. He also was the associate head coach on the Hawai’i staff during new associate HC Gibson Johnson’s playing days.

John Montgomery also re-joined the Rainbow Warriors after spending the past two years at Long Beach State. While at the Beach, Montgomery was tasked with scouting, player development, recruiting and had an emphasis on the offense, which finished in the top half of scoring efficiency (FG, 3PT) in the Big West last season.

Prior to his time at LBSU, Montgomery spent nine seasons at Hawai’i as one of Ganot’s original staff hires in the islands. While with the Rainbow Warriors, Montgomery oversaw development of post players while coordinating the defense and handling typical scouting duties on top.

Noah Allen is the “new” face of the bunch, getting his start in collegiate coaching back at his alma mater after playing professionally in Argentina this past season. Allen spent the first three years of his collegiate playing career at UCLA, seeing the Bruins advance to a pair of Sweet 16s in his time in Westwood.

He broke out into stardom in his senior season after transferring to Hawai’i, earning 1st-team All-Big West honors in his lone year with the Rainbow Warriors after averaging 15.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals across 30 games.

After the two big-name departures from the Hawai’i staff, Clay Wilson, Juan Munoz and Jake Nishimura remain from last year’s conference tournament-winning group and have tried to help keep the program’s positive momentum entering the Mountain West despite the laundry list of changes.

Wilson, in particular, took a lead role in recruiting for a handful of the recent transfer portal class for the Rainbow Warriors. Heading into his second year with the program and first transfer cycle, Wilson was the first point of contact on players like Bol Dengdit and Kellen Hampton. The young assistant should continue to take on more responsibilities after settling in last year on staff.

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