Jul. 14—GRAND FORKS — Brian Idalski is the new head coach at Syracuse University.

The former UND women's hockey coach will take over Syracuse after spending last season as the head coach of expansion Vancouver in the Professional Women's Hockey League.

"Brian Idalski is one of the most accomplished and respected coaches in the sport, and we are thrilled to welcome him, his wife Nicole and their boys to Syracuse," athletic director Bryan Blair said. "His track record speaks for itself — a proven program-builder who wins at every level, from the NCAA to the Olympics. Just as important, he has a track record of developing complete student-athletes who succeed in the classroom and beyond. This is an exciting moment for the future of Syracuse women's ice hockey."

Syracuse went 15-18-4 last season under Britni Smith, who stepped down in April.

Syracuse plays in Atlantic Hockey with Penn State, Delaware, RIT, Mercyhurst, Lindenwood and Robert Morris. The Orange, who have been at the Division-I level since 2008, have reached the NCAA tournament twice — 2019 and 2022.

"Syracuse women's hockey has tremendous potential, and I look forward to building strong relationships and a culture of accountability, development and relentless competitiveness," Idalski said. "Together, we will work to make the Orange a program everyone is proud of."

Idalski spent 10 seasons at UND from 2007-17, turning the program into a national contender.

He recruited Olympic gold medalists Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, Monique Lamoureux-Morando and Kristen Campbell to UND as well as Finnish stars Michelle Karvinen and Susanna Tapani.

The Lamoureux twins are in UND's Hall of Fame. Karvinen will be inducted this fall.

UND cut its program in 2017.

Since then, Idalski has made stops at the prep level (Culver Academy), NCAA level (St. Cloud State), professional level (KRS Vanke Rays, Vancouver) and international level (China, Czechia).

The PIAA Distrct 11 Hall of Fame class of 2026 was announced on Tuesday, and among the newest selections into the hall of fame is Tamaqua Area High School multi-sport athlete Erika (Barron) Davis.

Davis, who now serves as the coach of the Tamaqua girls’ basketball team, participated in cross country, basketball, track and field, and volleyball during her time at Tamaqua. She finished her career with a school record 2,317 points and was a two-time All-State selection in the process.

She’d go on to have a standout collegiate career at Susquehanna University, where she totaled nearly 900 points in 102 career games played while also recording 364 assists and 159 steals.

Davis, this past school year, completed her 11th season as Tamaqua’s girls’ basketball coach.

Also being inducted into this year’s hall of fame is former Northern Lehigh’s Bob Chandler (cross country), Catasauqua’s Amanda Gerhard (soccer), Keith Groller (media – The Morning Call), Stroudsburg’s Jake Jakobsen (wrestling), Stroudsburg’s Ken Lacey (men’s basketball), East Stroudsburg’s Stacy Perryman (basketball), and Parkland’s Andre Williams (football).

Coaches being inducted are long-time former Southern Lehigh softball coach Brian Neefe, former Emmaus swimming coach Mike Seip, former Easton football coach Steve Shiffert, and former Salisbury baseball coach Frank Yelinko.

There are also two media selections for this year’s Hall of Fame. With the Morning Call’s Keith Groller and Severice Electric Network’s Mike Zambelli both earning the honor.

NASHUA — Aiden O’Connell has settled into a summer routine.

The Bedford resident and pitcher starts once a week for the defending New England Collegiate Baseball League champion Keene Swamp Bats. On his off days, O’Connell does mobility training, throwing sessions and watches baseball with his teammates.

“That’s really the best part,” said O’Connell, a lefty who pitched the Swamp Bats to a 2-1 exhibition win over the Nashua Silver Knights of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League on Monday night at Holman Stadium. “It’s been a pleasure being here.”

The seven-inning bout was the first ever between the state’s only summer collegiate baseball teams and the inaugural game of the “Granite State Showdown.” The teams will meet again on Tuesday, July 28 at 6:30 p.m. at Alumni Field in Keene.

O’Connell, who allowed one run and struck out seven over five innings against Nashua, said the routine has been beneficial.

“After a couple weeks or so, you realize, ‘Oh, this is what I do.’ ...and it relieves a lot of pressure on the mound when you’re out there,” said O’Connell, who grew up in Goffstown before his family moved to Bedford before his senior year of high school. “You know you’ve done all the work to be able to succeed.”

The 2023 Gatorade New Hampshire Baseball Player of the Year as a senior at Bedford High, O’Connell played his first season at Duke University this past spring.

The Vanderbilt transfer pitched mostly in relief for the Blue Devils, posting an 0-1 record, seven saves and a 6.67 ERA. O’Connell recorded 34 strikeouts over 27 innings.

With the Swamp Bats, O’Connell has started five games, posting an 0-2 record and 6.14 ERA with 16 strikeouts over 14 2/3 innings.

O’Connell, who played for the Silver Knights in 2023, is part of a new Granite State contingent at Duke.

O’Connell was roommates last year with Swanzey resident and former Swamp Bat Ben Dean, a fellow pitcher and his former AAU baseball teammate. Blue Devils sophomore infielder Will Shaheen is from Portsmouth.

Last season was the first for Manchester’s Corey Muscara as Duke’s head coach. The former Trinity High School star’s coaching staff includes former Southern New Hampshire University coach Scott Loiseau.

“Having those four guys with me,” O’Connell said, “it just makes it much easier knowing that even if you’re from a part of the (country) no one really knows and you get down to the ACC and the SEC, in the back of my mind I know anyone can do it.”

O’Connell considers himself a versatile pitcher. He throws a four-seam fastball, cutter, curveball and a changeup.

Seventh-year Swamp Bats manager Shaun McKenna said O’Connell’s pitching style is like his personality: high energy. McKenna and the coaching staff are working with O’Connell to perfect his changeup.

McKenna is an old-school manager, O’Connell said. When McKenna talks with O’Connell during a mound visit, he’s direct about how he feels O’Connell is pitching.

“That’s the criticism I like,” O’Connell said. “He keeps it very simple — no need to overthink.”

Next season at Duke, O’Connell said he wants to take the mound with confidence and feel like he’s “the guy,” as he has this summer with Keene.

McKenna, an assistant baseball coach at Keene State, said he believes O’Connell, if he makes some strides, can be a starter next spring for Duke.

“If he really works on his command, I think he could be a mid-week or Sunday starter for them. I do,” McKenna said. “He’s definitely a special kid.”

ahall@unionleader.com

As the college football world turns, University of Hawaii head coach Timmy Chang remains grounded in his goals.

“I think college football has changed,” said Chang, who enters his fifth season as the Rainbow Warriors’ leader. “You have to be flexible to build a roster and compete. We’re doing that. We’re a different type of program. We’re in a different location. And that poses different factors and opportunities and challenges that we have to be able to adapt.”

Fifty-four months after inheriting a disheartened program that was in emotional turmoil, Chang is navigating an evolving landscape. The transfer portal has eased the way for players to change schools without interruption. Student-athletes may now profit from use of their name, image and likeness. The House vs. NCAA settlement requires profit sharing up to $20.5 million annually per school. (UH has budgeted $5 million for NILs and profit sharing this coming academic year, with $2.5 million earmarked for football.)

The Rainbow Warriors have been impacted living in a material whirl.

“Jackson Harris is an example,” Chang said of the wideout who received a lucrative NIL deal after transferring to LSU following the 2025 regular season. “I think he loved our program, but he left for the money.”

But the portal is accessible in both directions, and the Warriors were able to find tall and fast transfers to reload the receiver positions.

“We just focus on our program, focus on our staff, focus on getting better,” Chang said. “Those are the things we can control. We focus on building and developing young student-athletes.”

In accepting the UH job in January 2022, Chang emphasized assembling a staff that shared his vision, connecting the program with academic and administrative leaders, and taking great care of his players.

“If we want someone to come into our program, it means something,” Chang said. “You’re taking in somebody’s son. You’re taking in someone who wants to trust you. That’s the biggest thing.”

For Chang, that meant providing educational and nutritional opportunities.

“Five years ago, we fought for feeding our kids and taking care of them,” said Chang, noting such programs as the Braddahhood Grindz and Sodexo provide training tables. “We’re fed year ’round besides the days we’re truly off, like spring break or winter break. We kept them fed.”

With expanded guidelines, every team member, including walk-ons, partakes in the training table.

“Once you’re on our team, you’re part of it,” Chang said.

He also has provided some leeway for youthful mistakes.

“I made it vocal, my biggest problem is we’re very quick to move to the next thing and move off people,” Chang said. “We want to build a program where we can give people second chances to try to do things right. We want to grow and develop and build that trust with them.”

During Chang’s tenure, the pied piper has been quarterback Micah Alejado, who was born and reared on Oahu and became a standout quarterback for national powerhouse Bishop Gorman High of Las Vegas.

“Micah brings a lot to the table for our program, for our state,” Chang said of the third-year Warrior. “He’s able to attract other players, as well. When you talk about receivers wanting to come and play, they want to play with Micah. A guy who left, like Jackson, still wanted to play with Micah. It’s the style of how we recruit. We recruit people. Your talent is your talent. We recruit based on who you are as a person.”

Chang also said that standard holds for his coaches and staff. Chang has reached agreement on a contract extension, although the paper work has not been signed. As part of conversations, Chang strongly proposed rewarding his staff. Last month, the assistant coaches received new contracts — some received two-year deals.

“The most important thing is continuing to build,” Chang said. “When you look at the building part of it, it’s taking care of your coaches. The coaches are an extension of me. I want to make sure we’re taking care of them. And always taking care of the players, whether it’s revenue sharing or NILs or feeding them. That’s the biggest thing.”

The Warriors became a football-only member of the Mountain West in 2012. This month, 15 UH sports joined, making the school essentially a full member. (UH’s men’s volleyball, beach volleyball and water polo teams remain in the Big West because the Mountain West does not sponsor those sports.)

With UH as full member, school president Wendy Hensel has been appointed to the Mountain West’s Board of Directors and the league’s executive committee. Athletic director Matt Elliott will have a greater voice in decisions involving UH. And UH will receive a full share of the league’s national television revenue.

On the football field, the Warriors have a chance to fill the leadership void created by Boise State’s and Fresno State’s departure to the Pac-12.

Chang will continue to call plays for the ever-evolving run-and-shoot offense.

“I think the run-and-shoot is a wrinkle in itself,” Chang said. “It’s an offense about quarterbacks and receivers being on the same page. You start with an offense like that, it becomes challenging (for defenses) to stop.”

Chang also said defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman will continue to reload a scheme in attack mode.

“Dennis has a great understanding of how he wants to attack and what he wants to do,” Chang said. “Complicated or simple, he wants to make his defense attack. This year more than others. You lose (play-making safety) Peter Manuma and you have guys to replace him. There have been guys waiting in the wings ready to step up.”

—

The winner gets to host NCAA Tournament games?

Unfortunately for Lobo fans, it's too late for that, but UNM did announce on Monday it has signed a home-and-home contract with Wichita State for men's basketball — one game this season on Nov. 21 in Kansas and the second on a yet-to-be-determined date in the 2027-28 season in the Pit.

Last week, despite plenty of public sentiment for the six-decade-old Pit to win a bid to host preliminary round games of the newly expanded NCAA Tournament for the next two years, the NCAA chose Wichita State's bid as the winner, citing its geographical advantage being closer to far more schools and fan bases than is Albuquerque.

As for the coming home-and-home basketball series between two of the more traditional top non-power conference programs, Lobos second-year coach Eric Olen has said he’s hopeful it can be a Quad 1 game on the road — a much-coveted distinction as the Lobos move into the newly configured Mountain West comes with the expectation of league play not helping the postseason resume as in years past.

"I think we've been able to put together a good schedule," Olen told reporters last week, prior to the Wichita State game being announced. "St. Mary's and Utah State are kind of marquee home games. And obviously we have New Mexico State at home, so we feel good about the home environments. And then we have a return to Santa Clara. We like that — theoretically a Quad 1 (game). Boise, Oregon State on neutral (courts). ...

"We still have a few games left to get, so we'll see how things play out."

For the Lobos — as the road team this season — Wichita State would have to end the season with a NET ranking in the top 75. The Shockers finished tied for second in the American this past season and with a final NET ranking of 70.

The Lobos finished this past season with a NET of 46.

The schedule so far

Based on records requests and announcements from the schools, the 13-game UNM men's basketball nonconference schedule for this season has nine games locked up, so far, plus two exhibition games:

*

Exhibition: at Oklahoma State, Oct. 11

*

Exhibition: vs. Washington State, Oct. 18 (The Pit)

*

vs. Utah Tech, Nov. 2 (The Pit)

*

vs. Northern Arizona, Nov. 10 (The Pit)

*

at Santa Clara, Nov. 14

*

at Wichita State, Nov. 21

*

vs. Utah State, Nov. 29 (The Pit)

*

vs. New Mexico State, Dec. 5 (The Pit)

*

vs. Saint Mary's, Dec. 12 (The Pit)

*

vs. Boise State, Dec. 21 or 23 (TBD event in California)

*

vs. Oregon State, Dec. 21 or 23 (TBD event in California)

Wanna see?

The Lobo men's basketball team will hold a second open-to-the-public summer practice on July 21 in the Pit.

We're running it back!

Who's ready for another !?

July 21

️ The Pit—Powered by Nusenda

⏰ 6pm#GoLobos pic.twitter.com/lNPJeDliGz

— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) July 13, 2026

The event, free to the public, starts at 6 p.m.

There will be an Albuquerque Isotopes game going on that same night with charged parking. Parking at the Pit, for the practice, is free if drivers inform the lot attendant they are there for basketball.

Odds & ends...

• Former Lobo forward Josiah Allick got his first NBA Summer League action Sunday with the Charlotte Hornets. He grabbed one rebound in just 57 seconds on the court and did not take a shot. ...

• Former Lobo Timeo Pons, who transferred this offseason to Abilene Christian, scored a game-high 23 points with 10 rebounds and three steals on Sunday for France's U20 National team in a dominant 95-66 win over Germany in a group stage game in Slovenia. He hit 6-of-9 3-pointers. ...

• The second Eric Olen kids camp of the summer for boys and girls in first through eight grades will be July 27-30 in the Pit.

For more information on attending the camp, contact assistant coach Michael Wilder at mwilder2@unm.edu.

Reach Geoff Grammer at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.

OTTUMWA — Jace Mitchell knew he would be inheriting the role as the ace of the pitching staff for the Ottumwa High School baseball team when the season began.

In his final game on the mound for the Bulldogs, Mitchell pitched like an ace allowing two runs on four hits while striking out 10 batters. It was a performance worthy of a postseason win.

Against many other pitchers, it would have been good enough to earn Mitchell a postseason win. Adam Bowman, however, ended up on top in a classic substate duel on Saturday at John Hart Stadium.

Bowman, one of the top 10 pitching prospects in the state, showcased his skills for 6 2/3 innings allowing just two infield singles to the Bulldogs and three total baserunners while striking out 13 batters. The Little Hawk senior came within one pitch of a complete-game effort, ultimately handing the ball over to Kane Willey, who struck out Quinn Larsen swinging with the final pitch clinching Iowa City High's 2-0 win over Ottumwa in the Class 4A, Substate 8 quarterfinals.

"When you play in the playoffs, it's always a grind game, especially in this type of match-up," Ottumwa High School head baseball coach Joey Mitchell said. "They had a pitcher on the mound that's been really good all season. He was really good again.

"When it comes to games like this, it comes down to a couple of timely hits. They got them. We didn't."

Jace Mitchell took over as Ottumwa's top pitcher midway through the season from one of the other state's top pitching prospects. Tucker Long wrapped up his final season of high school baseball pitching 20 innings in four starts, striking out 42 batters reaching 250 career strikeouts before moving on the begin his college baseball career at the University of Mississippi.

Mitchell finished an incredible senior season for the Bulldogs both on the mound and at the plate, recording a 1.47 ERA in 43 innings over eight starts while striking out 59 batters. Mitchell also finished leading Ottumwa at the plate with eight home runs, 39 RBIs and a .758 slugging percentage giving the Bulldog senior plenty of confidence heading to Central College to begin his own collegiate baseball career.

"It definitely gives me a lot of confidence that I can go in there and show everyone what I can do," Jace Mitchell said. "Definitely, when it comes to hitting, I kind of struggled early on and found it midway through the season. I just rode with it. I've pitched against a lot of good teams this year and done pretty well against most of them."

Mitchell met an early challenge on Saturday as Iowa City High (22-18) loaded the bases with one out in the opening inning, striking out the last two hitters to keep the Little Hawks off the board. Bowman responded by striking out the side in the opening inning on the way to retiring seven of Ottumwa's first nine hitters on strikeouts.

"I just had the ball moving really well," Bowman said. "I was able to throw all three of my off-speed pitches for strikes. When I can do that, it makes it pretty easy."

Iowa City High brought in the only two runs of the game thanks in large part the biggest swing of the game. Blaine Heick followed a lead-off single by Caden Pauli by driving a ball to center for an RBI double before stealing third base and scoring on a sacrifice fly by Crosby Newton, giving Bowman all the run-support necessary allowing only one ball to leave the infield in the contest retiring the potential tying run at the plate five times including four strikeouts of the potential tying run during the contest.

"When I take too much time in between pitches, that's usually when I get into trouble," Bowman said. "I try to keep my mojo working by going pitch to pitch. I just try to throw the ball and, hopefully, it goes where you want it."

Larsen reached twice in three trips to the plate against Bowman. Mitchell Jordan collected his team-leading 45th hit, beating out an infield single in the third inning for the Bulldogs.

"We were starting to see some things better once we started down the order for the third time," Joey Mitchell said. "We started putting some more balls in play, but it just started for us a little too late."

Iowa City High faced eighth-ranked Waukee Northwest (24-12) in the substate semifinals with the winner heading to third-ranked Indianola (31-4) on Wednesday for a state baseball tournament berth. Ottumwa ends the season with a record of 20-14 in Joey Mitchell's first year as the helm of the Bulldogs.

"Ottumwa baseball has always been a program that team's around the state recognize. We've always been able to put some really good teams together," Joey Mitchell said. "I just look forward to doing that each and every year."

Local tennis

Rochelle tennis tournament still taking registrations: The seventh annual tournament at Rochelle High School is taking registrations through July 15. The tournament takes place from Friday, July 24, to Sunday, July 26.

Last year, there were 164 players from ages 11-84 who came from 58 cities.

The cost is $40 per adult and $20 for students, which includes unlimited divisions. Players also need to bring one can of new balls per division they are playing in. All proceeds go to the Rochelle HS tennis programs.

You can register and find more information at https://sites.google.com/view/rochelle-tennis-tourney. Registration fees can be paid at the tournament with cash, check or Venmo.

Questions? Contact Kristy Eckardt at (815) 677-1473 or kristyeckardt@hotmail.com, along with Lizzie Cartwright at (217) 979-9879 or lcartwright@rthsd212.org.

UCF senior forward Jamichael Stillwell is among 16 college athletes suing the NCAA, seeking an injunction granting them another year of eligibility.

The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of Cobb County, Georgia, is the latest in a series of lawsuits in response to the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility regulation or “5 for 5” rule.

The measure allows athletes to use up to five seasons of eligibility within a five-year window. The clock would begin either immediately after an athlete enrolls at an institution or at the beginning of the academic year following their 19th birthday. Athletes who completed their fourth season during the 2025-26 academic year would not receive an additional year of eligibility.

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Florida attorney Darren Heitner, who is representing the athletes in the case, has been involved in several lawsuits against the NCAA seeking immediate eligibility for athletes. He served as an attorney for Clemson receiver Tristan Smith, who received a temporary injunction against the NCAA from a South Carolina judge in June.

He’s also the attorney for former Kansas defensive end Dean Miller, who is currently seeking an extra year of eligibility, which he hopes to use to play at UCF.

According to the lawsuit, Stillwell’s time at Miami-Dade College and Butler County Community College shouldn’t count against his competition limit and he should be eligible to play during the 2026-27 season.

The lawsuit also states that if he’s granted an additional year of eligibility, Stillwell would return to UCF, which it claims has a roster spot available for him.

If Stillwell receives an injunction and returns to the Knights, it would be a massive boost for a team coming off its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2018-19 season.

The 6-foot-8, 245-pound Georgia native averaged 11.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in his only season at UCF. He recorded nine double-doubles last season, including a 10-point, 13-rebound performance against UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Stillwell previously played two seasons at the junior college level before signing with Milwaukee as a junior in 2024-25. He averaged a double-double with 13 points and 10.7 rebounds per game for the Panthers.

He transferred to UCF prior to the 2025-26 season, along with former Milwaukee teammate Themus Fulks.

The Knights’ roster underwent another massive rebuild this offseason. Seniors Riley Kugel, George Beale Jr., Devan Cambridge and Fulks all exhausted their eligibility. Center Jeremy Foumena, guards Kris Parker, Chris Johnson and Poopha Warakulnukroh, and forward Jordan Burks all left via the transfer portal.

Stillwell also entered the portal, but with the caveat that if he could get an additional year of eligibility, he would return to the Knights.

His return would solidify a roster that features returnees John Bol, Carmelo Pacheco and Elijah Hulsewe, along with transfers Cayden Vasko, Arturo Dean, Mister Dean, Dior Johnson, Lewis Walker, Jason Asemota, Dylan Mann, Isaiah Malone, Ladarius Givan, Churchill Abass, Jahda Swann and Tanner Jones.

Matt Murschel can be reached at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com

Lionel Gannon saw the ups and downs from inside the building.

Moanalua’s 2026 campaign was lively, and even with solid success in preseason tournaments, there was no obvious reason to believe Na Menehune would shock the world.

The team grew stronger, turned errors into lessons and ended the OIA’s state-championship drought. Gannon was more than the best player on the best team. He was unflappable, doing all the little things with excellence as Moanalua became the first non-ILH program to win a state title since 1979.

The 6-foot-3 outside hitter’s state-tournament numbers were efficient and crucial.

>> 19 kills (.424), 1.5 blocks, one ace and four digs in a three-set quarterfinal win over Hawaii Baptist

>> 26 kills (.404), two blocks, two aces, one assist, eight digs in a four-set, semifinal win over Mid-Pacific

>> 18 kills (.250), 1.5 blocks, one assist, seven digs in the four-set win over Punahou for the crown

The senior’s reaction to top honors as the Player of the Year in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Boys Volleyball coaches and media selections was, as usual, emotionally understated and on point.

“It’s surreal, obviously. It’s everything I’ve worked for and dreamed of. Honestly, I’m just super glad we won. That’s the main thing that matters,” Gannon said. “If it wasn’t for everyone that supported me, my family, my coaches, my teammates, I would never have been able to do it.”

Alan Cabanting was voted Coach of the Year after steering Moanalua to its first state title. Le Jardin coach Makana Wade was second in the voting, followed by Punahou’s Rick Tune. Gabriel Maunupau of Mililani and Maria Taiafi-Husseini also received votes.

All season long, Cabanting put trust into his team and highly composed leaders like Gannon.

“That silent confidence is what we’re going to miss. He doesn’t talk a lot. He just shows it, models it and the boys playing around him somehow feed off that confidence,” Cabanting said, “knowing that if I mess up, Lionel’s going to be there to help us out.”

A hitter with every kind of touch on his swing plus high IQ was immeasurably valuable.

“He was so savvy with his attacks. Punahou took his cross and he hit line. There were several times where defenses took the line and the tip, and he goes deep corner into a 1-6 area. Being able to see that and knowing he doesn’t have to swing hard to get his kills,” Cabanting said

It was a season to remember.

“It all starts with the mentality that we had going into the season,” Gannon said. “All of our teammates were super bought-in into our system. We knew we had to do everything right to eventually take down Punahou. It’s cool to see a month after, I’ve known so many people for so long, it’s great. Everyone has a different personality and it’s great we were able to mesh together and form a great team chemistry.”

For one night, in the midst of chaotic Kona low weather, in a match that was postponed and moved from Laie to Pearl City, a packed house of loud spectators got to see history. In a rarity, the match was not televised due to the postponement. It felt surreal, but for Moanalua, it was about fundamentals and a defense sparked by the consistency and occasional spectacular play of libero Darric Abe.

“Punahou is one of the best serving teams. That was one of our main focuses throughout the entire season, making sure that our serve pass was really good,” Gannon said. “That allowed us to be competitive in the match. When we were down, I knew that we would never be out because we could bring it back with our serve receive.”

Star-Advertiser’s Fab 15: Boys Volleyball

Rk

Name (School)

Pos.

Notes / Stats

1

Lionel Gannon (Moanalua)

OH

63 kills at state tourney, 18 in final win vs. Punahou

2

Cameron Porter (Punahou)

OH

Closed out a brilliant career, 25 kills vs. Moanalua

3

Sava Miocinovic (Mid-Pacific)

OH

27 vs. eventual champion Moanalua in states

4

Jarryn McCutcheon (Moanalua)

OH/Opp.

Stepped up with 17 kills in the state final

5

Kanalu Akana (Punahou)

S

125 assists, 12 kills, three aces in HHSAA tourney

6

Tanoa Scanlan (Punahou)

OH

Steady player with 11, 15, 15 kills in states

7

Nikola Miocinovic (Mid-Pacific)

S

122 assists at states, including 44 vs. Moanalua

8

La‘akea Kamahele (Le Jardin)

OH

59 kills in three tourney matches for first D-II state title

9

Darric Abe (Moanalua)

L

12 digs in comeback win vs. MPI, 14 digs vs. Punahou

10

Jason Rivers (Hawaii Baptist)

OH

28 kills vs. KS-Hawaii, 17 kills in loss to Moanalua

11

Julian Romine (Mid-Pacific)

Opp/MB

19 kills, 3.5 blocks in semifinal loss to Moanalua

12

Kaito Duranceau (Mililani)

OH

43 kills, 7 aces, 24 digs at the state tourney

13

Brennan Nakayama (Le Jardin)

L

103 assists in state matches, 39 in D-II state final

14

Elau Hoopai-Waikoloa (Hana)

OH

50 kills vs. Seabury Hall, 39 kills, 4 aces vs. Pahoa

15

William Niethammer (Punahou)

L

Tallied 3 aces, 28 digs at the state tournament

Awards

* Player of the Year: Lionel Gannon (Moanalua)

* Coach of the Year: Alan Cabanting (Moanalua)

Honorable Mention

Taylor Chung (Moanalua), Nathaniel Kawai Koahou (Kamehameha), Luke Pragnell (Maui), Seth Kimura (Mililani), Nahua Lloyd (Punahou), Samuel Mokan (Hawaii Baptist), Josiah Talamoa (Pearl City), Micah Kalima-Keohohina (Radford), Cooper Long (Kamehameha), Brennan Flores (Mid-Pacific), Piikoa Kamoku (KS-Maui), Tui Ika (Radford)

Hawaii Prep World

For high school sports record books, visit .

This offseason, University of Hawaii quarterback Micah Alejado is routinely clocked at 4:45.

With a lights-outs bedtime of 8:30 p.m., Alejado awakens at 4 in the morning, showers, and then arrives at UH at 4:45. Maybe earlier, never later.

“I try to be the first one there,” Alehado, 21, said of the 6 a.m. start to conditioning drills. “Start warming up my body and get ready for the workout. I’m getting older. The body takes a little bit longer to get warmed up now.”

Entering his third year — and second as QB1 — with the Rainbow Warriors, Alejado has embraced his leadership role.

“I want to set the example,” said Alejado, whose summer schedule is built around the Warriors’ training.

He attended Saturday’s UFC 329 fight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where his parents own a home. He is scheduled to travel to Honolulu today, participate in Monday’s morning workout at UH, and then return to Las Vegas that afternoon ahead of this week’s Mountain West Media Days. Alejado, running back Cam Barfield, linebacker Jamih Otis, and nickelback Elijah Palmer will represent the Warriors during Wednesday’s session. All are alumni of Bishop Gorman High School, a national football powerhouse in Las Vegas.

While many high school graduates don’t see each other until their class’ 10th reunion, UH appears to have established a Bishop Gorman alumni association. There are 16 former Gaels on the Warriors’ 2026 active roster. Associate head coach Chris Brown and quarterbacks coach Chad Kapanui also coached at Bishop Gorman.

“Gorman played a huge part in all our lives,” Alejado said. “It’s a scared place. It definitely set us on the right path of life. Looking back on it — our lifestyles, our practice schedules, everything that happened with school and football and off the field — it was preparation for life after high school and going to college. It made the transition so much easier.”

Alejado, in actuality, has been training since his hanabata days in Ewa Beach. His father was a quarterback at Pearl City High. Paul Alejado made his left-handed son also practice throwing with his right hand, just in case. Micah Alejado can accurately throw right-handed passes up to 30 yards.

Galu Tagovailoa, father of Atlanta Falcons’ QB Tua Tagovailoa, was Alejado’s youth-league head coach.

Alejado moved to Las Vegas ahead of his freshman year at Saint Louis School. Jon Amano, a former Hawaii resident who coaches in Las Vegas, taught Alejado the intricacies of the run-and-shoot offense that UH uses. Bishop Gorman’s West Coast offense has run-and-shoot elements.

“At Gorman, we were training already in January and getting ready for the season in August,” Alejado recalled. “Early-morning workouts in the summer. … One-hundred degrees is 100 degrees. It’s not comfortable at all. But it makes you in shape and mentally tough.”

Alejado also has learned to adapt as he ascended the football ladder. At 5 feet 10, Alejado relies on a quick release to escape a defense of 11 angry men. His ability to throw to receivers as they break on their routes comes from post-practice sessions and tireless video studies.

“If you really want to be a mastermind and understand the game to the fullest, you have to take the proper steps to prepare and take a deep dive into the book of football,” Alejado said. “That’s the way I’ve been since I was young. I was in love with the game and the P’s and Q’s and insides and outsides of it.”

Alejado often will watch a play from an NFL telecast, then fire off a text to head coach Timmy Chang, who calls the offensive plays.

“Can we get a variation of what they’re doing into our offense?” Alejado would text.

Last season, Alejado showed grit after being injured in the season-opening victory over Stanford. He was believed to have suffered a high-ankle sprain. He declined to undergo advanced testing.

“I didn’t want to know what was wrong,” he said. “I wasn’t going to look at anything until the end of the season or if I couldn’t walk anymore.”

He played the following week, aggravating the injury in the second half. He missed the next two games and, after a bye week, returned against Fresno State and started the remainder of the season.

He did not participate in movement drills ahead of the Hawaii Bowl.

“I was just trying to get the ankle ready for one last game,” he said. “It was pretty surreal how I made it through the season.”

After the victory over California in the Hawaii Bowl, during which he completed 69.6% of his throws for 274 yards and three touchdowns, it was revealed he had endured fractures to his tibia and fibula in his right ankle. The injury did not require surgery.

“I don’t think if it were my left (ankle), I would have played, definitely not,”said Alejado, referencing his push-off foot.

Alejado did not participate in contact drills the past spring training. He was cleared for sprinting in June.

“I think those five, six months helped me a lot,” Alejado said. “It’s been a long road to recovery, one that really tested me. Looking at it now, I’m 100%.”

In this era of easy transfers and lucrative name-image-likeness deals, Alejado opted to stay put.

“Coach Chang has been my No. 1 supporter ever since he gave me a scholarship,” Alejado said. “That means a lot to have a coach who believes in you and trusts you. You’ll find a lot of guys today in college football struggling to find that. People underestimate how grateful I am for having this head coach and culture around me, having my brothers around me. We care about football. I love the culture here. I love the people. I want to win some football games here.”

Alejado regularly treats the offense to lunch. Ahead of training camp, he plans to pick up the tab for a team dinner. This coming Sunday, he is the name sponsor to a youth camp (ages 6-16) at Saint Louis School.

He said he grew up attending football camps and clinics. It was where he met and played catch with Tua Tagovailoa and Marcus Mariota.

“It was fun to meet them and talk football,” Alejado said. “It was big to see how they were as people. I want to do the same.”

—

Jul. 12—Thirty-two years ago, coach Larry Ham let senior Chris Wallace, the star quarterback for the South High School football team, call the plays on defense for the basketball team.

"I'm offense on the football field," Wallace said, "but when it comes to basketball, I think it starts and stops with who's playing defense and who's getting after 50-50 balls and who's winning the rebound war."

That was Wallace's thinking in the 1993-94 season, and it remains his philosophy as he prepares for his first season as the head coach of the Springfield boys basketball team.

"(Defense) dictates a lot of what we do offensively," Wallace said, "and that's getting out and trying to score off the break. If we can't, we'll get into what we do, but that's the precedent we're trying to set right now with our student-athletes."

Springfield announced the hiring of Wallace on June 1. Wallace replaces Matt Yinger, who stepped down in April. Yinger was 28-48 over three seasons.

Wallace will remain the offensive coordinator of Springfield's football team. He said the basketball team will practice in the evening after the football team when the seasons overlap.

The basketball team, which includes many football players, will play its first game in mid-December. That has often been the schedule for Springfield, whose football team has made a habit of deep playoff runs.

"If I have to do double duty, that means we're doing what we're supposed to do on the football field," Wallace said.

Springfield has suffered seven straight losing seasons in basketball. Springfield football was in a similar place when Maurice Douglass took over the program in 2014, having won a combined total of four games in the three previous seasons. Douglass turned the program into a winner in his third season and a state power in his sixth. Springfield then reached the state championship game three seasons in a row.

Wallace has similar goals.

"Those are the same set of kids that did what they did on the football field," Wallace said, "so the expectation doesn't change. Once you set a standard, that's what the goal is, and I think our kids will say that without a doubt. That's where we see ourselves."

For Wallace, the path to that level of success begins with building a culture with the basketball program.

"The one thing that I talked to my assistant coaches about is we all agree right now there's no culture for basketball, and that's where it has to start," he said. "We created a culture with football. We created a sense of belonging. That's something that people value. We hold each other accountable, from the trainers all the way to the kids. That's what we're going to try to do with basketball as well. I think it can happen, but it takes the kids saying, 'Hey, this is what we're going to do. This is how we're going to do things. This is what our standard is going to be as players. As student-athletes, we're going to hold each other to this standard.' If you get that player-led atmosphere, we can start to build. Right now, our talk is we want to play late into March."

Wallace has plenty of experience with the program. He has worked as a varsity assistant basketball coach, a freshman head coach and a junior varsity coach.

Wallace takes over the program as his son, Christopher, enters his senior year. Christopher played quarterback for the football team but was limited to three games in basketball as a junior because of an injury.

Wallace has known many of the basketball players since they were in elementary school. He got to know them through his work as a community mentor supervisor for the school district.

"It's been exciting to see them grow in multiple sports," he said.

Wallace has already started working with them on the court. The Wildcats played at the Midwest Live event in Sandusky, Ohio, in June. They're also holding open gyms at the high school. He has seen good numbers and is excited about the young players.

"We've got a good young class of incoming freshmen and sophomores that are committed to the game," Wallace said, "and are showing up and working hard. We're young on the varsity level as well. We've got three or four sophomores that are going to be contributing, and we've got a couple juniors, and then we've got some seniors at the guard spots as well."

If Wallace achieves his goals, he'll add another chapter to Springfield's rich basketball history. Springfield won state championships in 1925 and 1950. North reached the state semifinals in 1995 and 1997. Ham guided South to seven conference championships and five district titles in 14 seasons.

Wallace knows about the past success of Springfield and North and South high schools, before they combined, as well as anyone.

Wallace is the rare athlete who not only played for South's Larry Ham but also for North's Eddie Ford. Wallace started his high school career at North and finished at South. His Springfield basketball experience goes back even further than that.

"I used to lay the jerseys out when I was a kid for Doug Ratstatter and Don Henderson and company," Wallace said. "I used to be in those locker rooms because my brother went to North. My older cousin, Steve Victoria, went to North. I went to North my first couple years, but even when I was a kid, my sisters cheered for South. I knew the Pepper Begos, the Scott Thomases, the Karlton Claybornes, the Jason Gees."

Some of those former Springfield basketball standouts called to congratulate Wallace on getting the job. They told him, "I know you're going to bring back that attitude and that toughness that we brought on the court in both gyms out on the north side and the south side."

"There's a buzz in the community," Wallace said, "and I'm excited about that."