Four Waiakea baseball players sign college deals after championship season
Four Waiakea seniors turned an island title run into college opportunities, with Jerrell Alston headed to Sacramento State and three teammates bound for programs in Arizona and California.
Four Waiakea baseball players turned a championship season into college opportunities Thursday at a spring signing ceremony on Warrior campus, a family-centered milestone that underscored how the program keeps pushing East Hawaii talent to the next level.
Jerrell Alston signed with Sacramento State, an NCAA Division I program in the Western Athletic Conference, after leading the Warriors in hits, runs, home runs and RBI. The right fielder hit .464 this season and delivered one of Waiakea’s biggest swings of the year, a two-strike grand slam in the BIIF Division I championship game against Kamehameha-Hawaii at Wong Stadium on April 29, 2026.
Waiakea beat Kamehameha-Hawaii 6-2 for the island title and finished the season 12-2 overall, including a perfect 11-0 in BIIF play. The Warriors stayed unbeaten through the BIIF title run and then carried that momentum into the state tournament, where they beat Kaiser and Baldwin before falling in the state title game.
Axel Akau signed with Yavapai College, a National Junior College Athletic Association Division I program in Arizona, after finishing with a .391 batting average and showing the size and power that made him a strong prospect. Jesse Inouye and Hurley Soong both signed with William Jessup University, giving Waiakea four players with college destinations from the same senior class.
The signings also reflected the program’s deeper identity under head coach Chris Honda: a public-school team on Hawaii Island that has learned how to turn BIIF success into college pathways. Honda said he was proud of what the players accomplished and confident they will make a positive impact in the future.
For younger players watching from Waiakea Gym and across Hilo, the message is clear. A strong season can open real doors, even from the Big Island. Waiakea’s 2022 HHSAA Division I championship already showed the program could reach the top of the state; this class added another reminder that the pipeline is still strong, and that local talent can keep moving from Warrior campus to college rosters on the mainland.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
