2016 Hawaii Preseason Softball Fab 5, presented by the Army National Guard
1. Campbell (Ewa Beach)2015 Team Record: 17-2
Coach: Michael "Shag" Hermosura
Campbell beat Milani, 16-4, to win the Hawaii D1 title and returns five players destined for the college ranks and who were named All-State, including OIA Division I West Player of the Year and pitcher
Elisa Favela, senior second baseman
Cydney Curran (Cal State Bakersfield), senior shortstop
Chardonnay Pantastico (Hawaii), senior designated player
Sierra Mariano (CSU-Stanislaus), and senior
Darien Robinson (SW Baptist).
Those returnees will give Campbell offense to spare. Favela (.400), Mariano (.410) and Curran (.403) batted over .400 with Robinson hitting .362 and Pantastico finishing at .333.
Also back is senior first sacker
Caragh Morris. Campbell featured only three seniors last season.
See last season's Hawaii softball Computer Rankings2. Mililani2015 Team Record: 15-3
Coach: Rose Antonio
The 2015 state runners-up will be led by three future collegiate players —
Aubree Kim (Santa Clara).
Kristen Ishii (Hawai'i-Hilo) and
Nina Simone Torio (Chaminade).
Kim was Hawaii Pitcher of the Year in 2014, posting a 14-1 record with a 1.12 ERA and 143 strikeouts in 81 innings pitched. She also was named State Gatorade POY in 2014.
Also back are senior outfielder
Tristan Cozo and junior
Merilis Rivera. Other returnees receiving seeing all-league mention were
Markie Okamoto,
Keri Togami, and
Maya Yoshiura.
Ishii batted .500, Yasuda .370 and Rivera .444.
Only one senior was on the team's 20-player roster a year ago. There could be as many as seven this season.
See Hawaii softball photos3. Kaiser (Honolulu)2015 Team Record: 15-3
Coach: Mitch Matsumoto
Kaiser, which finished third at State last season, will be led by seven seniors, pitchers
Crystal Ching-Lake and
Seli Aholelei. Aholelei pitches and plays shortstop, was named the OIA Player of the Year in the East, while Ching-Lake was selected as a first-team All-League pitcher. Other returning All-Stars are seniors
Elyse Tsutsui and
Marissa Oda. Named H-M were
Chelsea Soong, and junior
Kayla Russell.
As a junior, Aholelei was one of the catalysts for the Cougars last spring, going 9-1 on the mound with an ERA of 1.38 in 50.6 innings pitched. She was also a force at the plate, batting .543 with seven home runs and a state-best 34 RBIs. Of Aholelei's 38 hits, 23 went for extra bases.
Ching-Lake went 6-2 on the mound to go with a couple of saves in 58 innings of work. She also gave the Cougars a huge boost, offensively, batting .529. Matsuoka hit .436 with a pair of home runs.
The Cougars won their first 13 games before losing to eventual OIA champion Mililani in the semifinals of the conference tournament. Kaiser finished third in the OIA and went on to take sixth at the Division I state softball championships.
See last season's Hawaii softball stat leaders4. Kapolei2015 Team Record: 10-8
Coach: Anthony Saffery
Key returnees are All-State and future college players
Salah Pedebone and
Makana Meyers. Both pitch and hit. Kapolei finished fifth at State last season.
Other returnees are juniors
Sadie Kapaku-You and
Dallas Pollard-Brownell, sophomore
Prestyne Kaimi-Montira and senior
Shaycelynn Hoohuli.
See last season's Hawaii softball playoff brackets5. Kamehameha Hawai'i (Kea'au)2015 Team Record: 16-1
Coach: Gary Ahu
Kamehameha will be led by three-time BIIF Player of the Year
Mykala Tokunaga (Sonoma State signee) with hopes of improving on its third place D-1 State finish. Tokunaga was 13-1 pitching with an 0.88 ERA and batted .647.
Also returning are All-BIIF team selections sophomore first baseman
Taylor Sullivan, junior second baseman
Kiarra Lincoln (.550) and senior
Wong Yuen, a catcher, who hit .641 a year ago. Also back is senior shortstop
Makena Wagner.