UH men’s basketball team putting its recruiting plan in full motion

The reloading of the Hawaii basketball roster began with a plan. After their appearance in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, the Rainbow Warriors entered the offseason seeking to replace six seniors and two rotational players testing the free agent market. Associate head coach Brad Davidson, who coordinated the offense and was an influential recruiter the past five years, accepted an assistant’s job at USC.

First item was to secure renewed pledges from guards Tanner Cuff and Isaiah Kerr. Cuff was projected to be the ’Bows’ opening-night point guard before suffering a torn ACL during a preseason practice. Kerr emerged as facilitator, outside shooter and aggressive defender.

He clinched two victories by forcing at-the-buzzer misses. The ’Bows won the 2026 Big West Tournament with the league’s oldest roster. They sought to attack the NCAA transfer portal early while the NIL market was stable and panicky recruiters from rebounding programs did not drive up compensation packages.

Similar to the past two recruiting classes, the ’Bows prioritized adding talent at the point and post. They signed point guard Jaden Matingou of Division II Point Loma Nazarene. Chance Trujillo, who finalized his written commitment to UH on Saturday, played the point, off guard and wing at Utah Tech the past season.