Hawaii baseball loses another impact arm to transfer portal

Two weeks after losing a pair of projected top pitchers for its 2025 team to the NCAA transfer portal, the University of Hawaii baseball team lost another impact arm to the portal on Thursday.

Brayden Marx, who developed into a late-inning option out of the bullpen for the Rainbow Warriors as a true freshman in 2024, has entered the portal. Marx finished his first collegiate season with a 4-0 record with 24 strikeouts in 17.1 innings with an ERA of 4.15.

Marx joins Harrison Bodendorf and Alex Giroux as pitchers who were projected to have major roles for the Rainbow Warriors in 2025 who will play college ball elsewhere next year.

Since the departures of Bodendorf and Giroux, the Rainbow Warriors have restocked their roster with a pair of junior college standouts in pitcher Hekili Robello and Taylor Takata, who both hail from the islands.

Robello, a Hilo alumnus, will transfer to UH from Santa Rosa Junior College. The right-handed pitcher has a fastball in the low-90s to go with a plus slider.

Takata, a shortstop from Orange Coast College, graduated high school from Kailua. He is expected to compete for a starting spot in the infield, particularly if incumbent starting shortstop Jordan Donahue is selected in July’s MLB Draft.