Dane Fujinaka Baseball Camps
Coach Dane Fujinaka is in his third season as the Sharks skipper. The 2023 season marked the best conference finish since 2016, tied for 6th place with a 14-17 conference record. The Sharks had one of the top offensive seasons leading the conference in triples and stolen bases. They were also 2nd in the PacWest in batting average and 3rd in runs per game scored. Coach Fujinaka’s offense in 2023 was led by PacWest newcomer of the year, Kota Suzuki, 2nd team All-Conference pick, Nick Jio, and 3rd team picks, TJ Smith and DJ Stephens. On Opening Day of the 2022 season, Fujinaka’s first-career win came on a Perfect Game thrown by Jack O’Brien. The Shark hitters were 4th in the PacWest with a .287 batting average and tied for 1st in stolen bases with 94. The team’s BA, ERA, WHIP, K/BB, and K/9 ratios all saw improvement from the 2021 season. There were 4 PacWest All-Conference selections in Nick Jio (1st), DJ Stephens (2nd), Cole Kashimoto (3rd), and Jack O’Brien (3rd). The Sharks saw an 8-win jump from 2021, where they finished the 2022 season 17-27. Fujinaka came to HPU from coaching in the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system since 2019 and spent the 2021 season as manager of the Blue Jays Dominican Summer League. As a first-year manager, Fujinaka led his club to a Dominican Summer League championship.Fujinaka was an assistant coach at Illinois State in 2019 where he helped the Redbirds to a Missouri Valley co-championship and an NCAA Tournament berth before joining the Blue Jays. He also coached at Sacramento State where their catchers set school records and were top of the NCAA ranks in allowing the fewest number of stolen bases. Fujinaka also spent some time at William Jessup recruiting, where he helped turn a last place team in 2017 into a GSAC champion in 2018. Fujinaka started his coaching career as an assistant coach at Menlo College under current Nevada Reno head coach, Jake Mckinley. In 2016, Menlo led the NAIA in offense and homeruns, while being ranked as high as 6th nationally. Over the span of Fujinaka’s coaching career both collegiately and professionally, he has coached 13 student-athletes who were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft and 4 players who are currently in the Major Leagues. As a player, the Sharks skipper was an Academic All-WAC performer as a catcher at Sacramento State, where he started 135 of 152 games at catcher for the Hornets. He helped lead the Hornets to their first-ever NCAA regional in 2014. He sported a .246 career batting average, with 16 doubles and 49 RBIs. He finished his collegiate playing career at Menlo where he started all 54 games and was second on the Oaks with a .280 batting average with four home runs, nine doubles and 22 RBIs. He was an all-state and all-ILH catcher at Mid-Pacific.
Fujinaka earned his bachelor’s in sports management at Menlo in 2016.
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Coach Dane Fujinaka is in his third season as the Sharks skipper. The 2023 season marked the best conference finish since 2016, tied for 6th place with a 14-17 conference record. The Sharks had one of the top offensive seasons leading the conference in triples and stolen bases. They were also 2nd in the PacWest in batting average and 3rd in runs per game scored. Coach Fujinaka’s offense in 2023 was led by PacWest newcomer of the year, Kota Suzuki, 2nd team All-Conference pick, Nick Jio, and 3rd team picks, TJ Smith and DJ Stephens. On Opening Day of the 2022 season, Fujinaka’s first-career win came on a Perfect Game thrown by Jack O’Brien. The Shark hitters were 4th in the PacWest with a .287 batting average and tied for 1st in stolen bases with 94. The team’s BA, ERA, WHIP, K/BB, and K/9 ratios all saw improvement from the 2021 season. There were 4 PacWest All-Conference selections in Nick Jio (1st), DJ Stephens (2nd), Cole Kashimoto (3rd), and Jack O’Brien (3rd). The Sharks saw an 8-win jump from 2021, where they finished the 2022 season 17-27. Fujinaka came to HPU from coaching in the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system since 2019 and spent the 2021 season as manager of the Blue Jays Dominican Summer League. As a first-year manager, Fujinaka led his club to a Dominican Summer League championship.Fujinaka was an assistant coach at Illinois State in 2019 where he helped the Redbirds to a Missouri Valley co-championship and an NCAA Tournament berth before joining the Blue Jays. He also coached at Sacramento State where their catchers set school records and were top of the NCAA ranks in allowing the fewest number of stolen bases. Fujinaka also spent some time at William Jessup recruiting, where he helped turn a last place team in 2017 into a GSAC champion in 2018. Fujinaka started his coaching career as an assistant coach at Menlo College under current Nevada Reno head coach, Jake Mckinley. In 2016, Menlo led the NAIA in offense and homeruns, while being ranked as high as 6th nationally. Over the span of Fujinaka’s coaching career both collegiately and professionally, he has coached 13 student-athletes who were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft and 4 players who are currently in the Major Leagues. As a player, the Sharks skipper was an Academic All-WAC performer as a catcher at Sacramento State, where he started 135 of 152 games at catcher for the Hornets. He helped lead the Hornets to their first-ever NCAA regional in 2014. He sported a .246 career batting average, with 16 doubles and 49 RBIs. He finished his collegiate playing career at Menlo where he started all 54 games and was second on the Oaks with a .280 batting average with four home runs, nine doubles and 22 RBIs. He was an all-state and all-ILH catcher at Mid-Pacific.
Fujinaka earned his bachelor’s in sports management at Menlo in 2016.
Richard Higa is entering his first year as the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator for the Sharks.
Higa joined the Sharks as a walk-on in 2018, spending six seasons with the program. During his time at HPU, Higa was an all-conference selection in 2021 at second base, as well as starting in 100 career games, making an appearance at every position on the field, except catcher. Higa accumulated 107 hits, 25 doubles, 11 triples, and two home runs, finishing his career with a .301 batting average and .829 OPS. Higa’s 11 career triples are tied for second all-time with the program.
In 2023, Higa earned the Shark of the Year Award, chosen by the school’s athletic department. This award was earned by the athlete that prides themselves on the value of Pono, Kuleana, and Aloha.
Tom Grassel is entering his 1st year with the HPU baseball program. He will act as the infield coach. Tom grew up in Portland, Oregon, and was a 4-year varsity starter in High School. Following that he played several years as a two-way player at Yakima Valley CC. Following his playing career, he spent the last 10 years coaching at the youth and high school levels, most recently with Portland Baseball Club, where he assisted with the training and development of all players in the program. During his time coaching he has sent multiple players to the collegiate level.
Skyler Yamamoto is entering his first season with the Sharks as the Strength and Conditioning coach. He currently works as a strength coach at Kamehameha School. A standout player at Aurora University, Yamamoto posted a 4.05 ERA, 11-2 record, 4 saves, and 106.2 innings between 2018 and 2022. Yamamoto graduated from Aurora University with his bachelor’s degree in exercise science. He is also a graduate of Moanalua High School.
Brian Zablan is in his sixth season as an assistant coach for Hawai‘i Pacific University, joining the program in the Fall of 2018. In the 2022 season Brian coached Cole Kashimoto and DJ Stephens who were both PacWest All-Conference selections. Zablan is the Sharks first base coach and works primarily with the Shark outfielders.
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94-1024 Waipahu St, Waipahu, HI