Hawaii Warrior World

Formerly about Rainbow Warriors basketball, but now covering all University of Hawaii sports.

About the blog host

Brian McInnis has covered sports on Oahu full time since 2007, when he joined the Honolulu Star-Bulletin staff as a general reporter. He was the UH basketball beat writer from the 2008-09 season through 2017-18. Follow him on twitter @Brian_McInnis

Latest news

Hawaii soccer: full 2019 season preview

By Brian McInnis on August 21, 2019

In 2018, the Hawaii soccer team challenged itself by kicking off the season against No. 11 Texas A&M. That resulted in a 4-0 defeat. Things get tougher on paper in this year’s opener, as the young Rainbow Wahine host No. 5 USC at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at the Manoa Lower Campus. UH is playing its first four games of the season on its grass practice field because of damage to its regular playing surface at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium. It’s […]

Hawaii men’s basketball: Ganot teases 100th season; Jacobsen joins Cal Baptist

By Brian McInnis on August 20, 2019

From Day 1 on the job as Hawaii men’s basketball coach, Eran Ganot championed the program’s past as one of its greatest selling points. Over the course of the 2019-20 season — the 100th in program history going back to 1912 — UH plans to honor that past in a variety of ways. Ganot teased some of those methods this week as he stood in front of the NCAA and NIT tournament plaques he had custom made for the hallway outside […]

Hawaii women’s volleyball: Back-row players Hanawahine, Okino, Gong dig in

By Brian McInnis on August 19, 2019

The competition has been equal parts fierce and friendly. A three-way battle to determine the successor to Tita Akiu as the next Hawaii women’s volleyball libero is underway at every Rainbow Wahine preseason practice. The candidates: fourth-year junior Rika Okino, junior Kyra Hanawahine and third-year sophomore Janelle Gong. The team temporarily got away from the daily grind over the weekend with a West-side camping trip, wrote Cindy Luis in Monday’s print edition of the Star-Advertiser. But they were right back […]

Hawaii football: UH, Rams alumnus Pisa Tinoisamoa treasures return to Aloha Stadium

By Brian McInnis on August 17, 2019

Pisa Tinoisamoa wants no part of “the seats stuff” when the Los Angeles Rams take on the Dallas Cowboys at his old stomping ground. “If it’s up to me, I’m somewhere on the sidelines. I want to see it up close and personal. Especially being Aloha Stadium,” the former Hawaii great and retired NFL linebacker told Hawaii Warrior World during an autograph session with fans on Friday. Until this summer for a promotional event with the Rams — the franchise Tinoisamoa […]

VIDEO: Los Angeles Rams use Hawaii football practice field

By Brian McInnis on August 17, 2019

The University of Hawaii played host to the visiting Los Angeles Rams for a practice session on Friday afternoon. It was the only practice in the islands for the Rams before they face the Dallas Cowboys in a sold-out NFL preseason game at Aloha Stadium on Saturday. Head coach Sean McVay and backup quarterback Blake Bortles (who will likely be the starter Saturday with Jared Goff back on the mainland) spoke to the media after the roughly 45-minute session. McVay […]

Hawaii football: Well-traveled Hekili Keli‘iliki calls upon his life experiences

By Brian McInnis on August 16, 2019

Between stops on his life journey, Hekili Keli‘iliki took all the time he needed to regroup back in familiar environs. “I went home for 10 days and came here,” the Hawaii third-year sophomore running back said. Keli‘iliki, who was born in Utah and came to adult age in Arkansas, did more traveling than most by the time they reach college age. Coming out of high school, Keli‘iliki went on a two-year church mission to Brisbane, Australia, where he was immersed […]

Hawaii men’s tennis: John Nelson retires after 16 years as UH coach

By Brian McInnis on August 15, 2019

Sixteen-year Hawaii men’s tennis coach John Nelson has retired, UH announced on Thursday. Nelson led UH to WAC tournament titles in back-to-back-to-back years (2008, ’09, ’10), and the 2014 Big West regular-season title. In terms of program ranking, UH topped out under Nelson at No. 35 in the ITA poll in the 2010 season. UH also beat Oklahoma State in the NCAA team tournament first round. Two players earned conference player of the year honors under Nelson: Dennis Lajola (2011) […]

Hawaii soccer: Wahine brush off seventh-place prediction