By Stephen Tsai Honolulu Star-Advertiser
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The University of Hawaii baseball team’s season has ended but there still is more work to do entering the summer, such as:

— When then-UH athletic director David Matlin made a coaching change in June 2021, he was seeking to relight a program that was seemingly suffering from burnout. At the time, the Rainbow Warriors had not had a winning Big West record since moving from the Western Athletic Conference on July 1, 2012. (They were 12-12 in 2015 and 2016).

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Rich Hill has been an ignitor in his four seasons leading the ’Bows. With a WWE approach to pitching — leave it all on the mound then tag off to the next hurler, even at mid-count — and a blend of small and stall ball, the ’Bows finished over .500 against Big West opponents in 2013, Hill’s first UH season.

In all, Hill’s ’Bows are 83-59 in league play. This year, the ’Bows surged to earn one of five berths in the inaugural Big West Championship tournament, then eliminated UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Fullerton to create a three-team field of finalists. Tournament winner Cal Poly and regular-season champion UC Irvine earned berths in the NCAA Regionals.

The ’Bows played to 12 sellouts at Les Murakami Stadium this year, produced six walk-off victories, and created interactive rituals, such as the shaka-hammah victory motion.

Hill will be entering the final season of a five-year contract he signed in June 2022. He deserves a five-year extension. UH appears to be waiting for a new athletic director to be hired, which could be decided anywhere from the next couple of weeks to next couple of months. But acting athletic director Lois Manin already gave a one-year extension to Timmy Chang, whose original four-year contract was set to expire at the end of this coming football season. And a decision is close on a replacement for softball coach Bob Coolen, who retired following the 2025 season.

There’s little doubt a deal will get done. But sooner would be better than later.

— If every player who can stay put stays put, the ’Bows have a solid foundation for next season. Pitchers Isaiah Magdaleno, Sebastian Gonzalez, Itsutki Takemoto, Ethan Thomas and Zacary Tenn will be juniors. Cooper Walls was the Big West’s Freshman Pitcher of the Year. Third baseman Elijah Ickes is expected to move to shortstop as a junior next year. First baseman Ben Zeigler-Namoa and outfielder Kamana Nahaku are eligible for an NCAA exemption that would allow them to play as super seniors next season.

But the ’Bows still must avoid suffering from retention deficit. The NCAA transfer portal opens next Monday. Last year, the ’Bows lost two starting pitchers to the portal. The Major League Baseball Draft is set for July. Takemoto and center fielder Matthew Miura are among UH’s draft-eligible players. Pitcher Cory Ronan, who will be a senior next year, also is a potential draft selection.

— The installation of the new artificial surface was a boost to the program. There was only one rain delay in 35 home games this season.

But now UH needs to either install a permanent roof on the batting cage and proceed on plans to transform the area into a performance center.

One of the fan-friendly perks of the Big West tournament was Goodwin Field’s scoreboard, which posted a pitch clock that could be viewed from all seats, and a monitor showing each pitch’s velocity. Those would be nice features at Les Murakami Stadium.