The University of Hawaiʻi Rainbow Warriors baseball team is preparing for the 2026 season with a mix of returning players and new additions to its pitching staff. The group will feature eight pitchers from last year, who contributed to 15 wins in 2025, as well as eleven newcomers with experience at the junior college level or other schools before transferring to UH.
Pitching coach Keith Zuniga described the staff by saying, “We’re somewhat a new team, a new pitching staff, but an older veteran group at the same time.” Zuniga enters his third year leading the pitching staff and looks to continue building on previous successes.
Among those returning is Isaiah Magdaleno, who will transition from relief work into the role of Friday night starter. Last season, Magdaleno made 24 appearances out of the bullpen, throwing 60 innings and earning nine saves with a 2.70 ERA. He was named First-Team All-Big West and spent part of his summer in the Cape Cod League. Zuniga commented on Magdaleno’s preparation for his new role: “We are not changing who he is,” Zuniga said. “But we altered his training regime to tailor it more to that of a starter.”
Veteran leadership will also come from Sebastian Gonzalez and Liam O’Brien. Gonzalez posted a 1.48 ERA in eight relief outings last season while also making ten starts over three years with UH. O’Brien held opponents to a .120 batting average across 52 innings pitched last year.
Another notable returner is Zacary Tenn, who has appeared in 30 games over two seasons and posted a 1.02 ERA in 2024 as a redshirt freshman.
Several newcomers bring competitive experience. John Alkire II joins after stints at Charleston Southern and Texas State; Grant Garman arrives following a freshman season at Oakland where he started fifteen games and pitched nearly seventy-three innings; Tsubasa Tomii comes from Pima Community College in Arizona where he earned first-team all-conference honors; Brody Martin-Grudzielanek is recognized for having “a high-octane arm,” according to Zuniga; Hekili Robello looks for playing time after sitting out last year due to academics.
Zuniga highlighted the collective approach needed this season: “Getting the guys to understand how we’re going to piece a lot of games together,” he said. “Some of our best performances a year ago were on staff days, where everybody just needs to come in and do their job.”
He added that this year’s pitching staff is “built to be relentless.”
