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Eleven months ago, the Hawaii baseball team had not earned the fourth seed in the 2026 Big West Tournament.
The Rainbow Warriors did not employ an ace who would inspire “Mag-nificent” headlines or produce the league’s best pitching staff (3.44 ERA) and defense (.977 fielding).
Back then, coach Rich Hill was trying to reload a roster that lost a starting pitcher to the portal (Cooper Walls) and another to the draft (Itsuki Takemoto). Shortstop Jordan Donahue completed his UH eligibility and center fielder Matt Miura was poised to be a sixth-round draft pick.
Hill put the alarm on snooze.
“Would it have helped to panic?” Hill said. “It never helps to panic. You keep grinding. You keep having faith. We have great assistant coaches who are phenomenal recruiters. We just went to work.”
Hill and pitching coach Keith Zuniga knew they had a pair of aces in waiting. Isaiah Magdaleno, last season’s closer, was moving to the starting rotation. Last summer, Magdaleno was assigned to the Cape Cod League, where he averaged 11.9 strikeouts and 2.2 walks per nine innings. Hekili Robello redshirted in 2025 after transferring from Santa Rosa Junior College.
“I enjoy the role I’m in right now,” said Magdaleno, who has allowed one run and six hits while striking out 39 in the past three starts covering 27 innings. He has mystified opponents with a self-taught, all-direction changeup he mastered in Little League.
Robello, a Hilo High alumnus, is 9-4 with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.35-to-1.
Freshman Brody Martin-Grudzielanek, whom Hill described as a future “Friday starter,” filled in for Sebastian Gonzalez, who did not pitch this season while recovering from a knee injury. Japan-reared Tsubasa Tomii, optimistically listed at 5 feet 6, has a 1.11 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in 16 Big West appearances.
Hill sought to replace three catchers who completed their UH eligibility at the end of the 2025 season. Stanford transfer Charlie Saum committed to UH but then opted to apply for the MLB Draft. He signed with Toronto as an undrafted free agent. Kansas transfer Max Soliz Jr. withdrew his commitment to the ’Bows and returned to the Jayhawks. Soliz is hitting .207 in 29 games this season. Azusa Pacific transfer Mikey Easter suffered an injury and was not on the ’Bows’ spring roster.
But the ’Bows were able to fill the catcher’s position with Jake Redding, who had a solid freshman season at Sierra (junior) College. With Sierra coach Ryan Evanghelo’s blessing, Hill recruited Redding. Evanghelo, who played under Hill at San Francisco, believed Redding was too good to spend another year in junior college. This season, Redding has handled the pitchers, showed skill in framing (helping borderline pitches become strikes) and allowed one passed ball. Last year’s three catchers were charged with seven passed balls. Opponents have stolen 31 bases, down from 50 in 2025.
The ’Bows also appear to be healthy heading into the postseason. Shortstop Elijah Ickes, who returned this past week after missing 20 games because of a wrist injury, thanked his replacement, Taylor Takata. Takata is hitting .339 in Big West play. Takata now is an option at second or shortstop.
“I can’t say enough about him and what he’s meant to our team, both on the offense and defense,” Hill said of Takata, who redshirted last season after transferring from Orange Coast Community College. “We wouldn’t be here as that fourth seed without Taylor.”
Freshman Mana Lau Kong and junior college transfer John Martin have progressed in their first UH season. In the first 12 games, Lau Kong hit .167 with a strikeout ratio of 52.3%. In the next 19 games, he is batting .311 while striking out 34.3% of his plate appearances. Martin, a first baseman, is hitting .321 in 23 Big West games.
“That’s how it’s supposed to go,” Hill said. “These guys were very inexperienced as Division I players and pitchers. Forty-nine games into it, or whatever, they should be more experienced. They’re ready to go.”
Ben Zeigler-Namoa, who splits time between first base and the outfield, has witnessed the growth since transferring to UH in 2023.
“This team has a lot more bricks,” Zeigler-Namoa said. “We talk every year about building bricks for this program, building a foundation. This is just continuing it. I’m happy I’ve gotten to see this program grow. We’re going to continue that (against Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday) in the tournament.”
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The Rainbow Warriors did not employ an ace who would inspire “Mag-nificent” headlines or produce the league’s best pitching staff (3.44 ERA) and defense (.977 fielding).
Back then, coach Rich Hill was trying to reload a roster that lost a starting pitcher to the portal (Cooper Walls) and another to the draft (Itsuki Takemoto). Shortstop Jordan Donahue completed his UH eligibility and center fielder Matt Miura was poised to be a sixth-round draft pick.
Hill put the alarm on snooze.
“Would it have helped to panic?” Hill said. “It never helps to panic. You keep grinding. You keep having faith. We have great assistant coaches who are phenomenal recruiters. We just went to work.”
Hill and pitching coach Keith Zuniga knew they had a pair of aces in waiting. Isaiah Magdaleno, last season’s closer, was moving to the starting rotation. Last summer, Magdaleno was assigned to the Cape Cod League, where he averaged 11.9 strikeouts and 2.2 walks per nine innings. Hekili Robello redshirted in 2025 after transferring from Santa Rosa Junior College.
“I enjoy the role I’m in right now,” said Magdaleno, who has allowed one run and six hits while striking out 39 in the past three starts covering 27 innings. He has mystified opponents with a self-taught, all-direction changeup he mastered in Little League.
Robello, a Hilo High alumnus, is 9-4 with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.35-to-1.
Freshman Brody Martin-Grudzielanek, whom Hill described as a future “Friday starter,” filled in for Sebastian Gonzalez, who did not pitch this season while recovering from a knee injury. Japan-reared Tsubasa Tomii, optimistically listed at 5 feet 6, has a 1.11 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in 16 Big West appearances.
Hill sought to replace three catchers who completed their UH eligibility at the end of the 2025 season. Stanford transfer Charlie Saum committed to UH but then opted to apply for the MLB Draft. He signed with Toronto as an undrafted free agent. Kansas transfer Max Soliz Jr. withdrew his commitment to the ’Bows and returned to the Jayhawks. Soliz is hitting .207 in 29 games this season. Azusa Pacific transfer Mikey Easter suffered an injury and was not on the ’Bows’ spring roster.
But the ’Bows were able to fill the catcher’s position with Jake Redding, who had a solid freshman season at Sierra (junior) College. With Sierra coach Ryan Evanghelo’s blessing, Hill recruited Redding. Evanghelo, who played under Hill at San Francisco, believed Redding was too good to spend another year in junior college. This season, Redding has handled the pitchers, showed skill in framing (helping borderline pitches become strikes) and allowed one passed ball. Last year’s three catchers were charged with seven passed balls. Opponents have stolen 31 bases, down from 50 in 2025.
The ’Bows also appear to be healthy heading into the postseason. Shortstop Elijah Ickes, who returned this past week after missing 20 games because of a wrist injury, thanked his replacement, Taylor Takata. Takata is hitting .339 in Big West play. Takata now is an option at second or shortstop.
“I can’t say enough about him and what he’s meant to our team, both on the offense and defense,” Hill said of Takata, who redshirted last season after transferring from Orange Coast Community College. “We wouldn’t be here as that fourth seed without Taylor.”
Freshman Mana Lau Kong and junior college transfer John Martin have progressed in their first UH season. In the first 12 games, Lau Kong hit .167 with a strikeout ratio of 52.3%. In the next 19 games, he is batting .311 while striking out 34.3% of his plate appearances. Martin, a first baseman, is hitting .321 in 23 Big West games.
“That’s how it’s supposed to go,” Hill said. “These guys were very inexperienced as Division I players and pitchers. Forty-nine games into it, or whatever, they should be more experienced. They’re ready to go.”
Ben Zeigler-Namoa, who splits time between first base and the outfield, has witnessed the growth since transferring to UH in 2023.
“This team has a lot more bricks,” Zeigler-Namoa said. “We talk every year about building bricks for this program, building a foundation. This is just continuing it. I’m happy I’ve gotten to see this program grow. We’re going to continue that (against Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday) in the tournament.”
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