HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i Rainbow baseball team enter the 2010-11 school year with 15 new players on the roster.

 

After four juniors and four recruits were taken in the Major League Baseball Draft in June, head coach Mike Trapasso and staff had to hit the recruiting road hard, as they were able to get 13 recruits in the summer.

 

Of those 13 players, three are incoming freshmen out of high school. Conner George (Tigard, OR), Jake McWilliam (Phoenix, AZ) and Robert Parucha (Manhattan Beach, CA) are added to 'Iolani graduate Jarrett Arakawa to complete the freshman class.

 

The other 10 players are transfers, adding to Michael Blake from Mt. Hood College, the only transfer from the fall signing class.

 

Matt Harrison, a shortstop from Las Vegas, Nev., transfers in from the University of North Carolina. Harrison was a highly-recruited player out of high school that played one season at UNC before sitting out the 2010 season.

 

Zach Swasey transfers in from Salt Lake Community College after earning first team all-region honors in 2010. Swasey carried a .365 batting average with 50 RBI, five homers, nine triples, eight doubles, 49 runs and 20 stolen bases.

 

Zach McDonell transfers in from Oxnard College, where he carried a .341 batting average with 24 RBI, 25 runs, eight doubles and two home runs.

 

David Peterson transfers from Santa Ana College after originally going to Rice University out of high school. Peterson carried a .394 batting average with 21 RBI, 20 runs, two home runs and six doubles at Santa Ana in 2010 as a catcher.

 

AJ Bayus is a corner infielder that transfers in from Golden West College. Bayus had 12 home runs, 11 doubles, 45 RBI and 41 runs while batting .349 in 2010.

 

Brent Harrison was a first team all-conference honoree at Cosumnes River College. He went 7-2 with a 3.67 ERA in 54.0 innings pitched.

 

Patrick O'Rourke was Harrison's teammate at Cosumnes River, holding a 4.57 ERA in 61.0 innings.

 

Riley Welch transfers in from Yavapai College. He was 2-2 with two saves and a 5.50 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 34.1 innings. Welch was drafted by the Oakland A's in the 34th round in 2008 and is the son of legendary pitcher Bob Welch.

 

Jim McWilliam is a transfer from Chandler-Gilber Community College. He carried a 3.27 ERA in 33.0 innings.

 

Garrett Champion is a catcher that transfers in from Cuesta Community College. He also played for the Kamuela Paniolos in the Hawai'i Collegiate Summer League in 2009.

The Rainbows open the 2011 season with a four-game series against Oregon from Feb. 18-20 at Les Murakami Stadium.

 

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