2026 DIVISION II »  Division I


Kohala's Kauka earns third All-Hawaii D2 Player of the Year honor

CJ Caraang | SL

Player of the Year: Layden Kauka, Kohala, Sr., G

Coach of the Year: Kihei Kapeliela, Kohala


FIRST TEAM

Sebastian Peterson

Seabury Hall  •  Sr
G  •  6'0

Layden Kauka

Kohala  •  Sr
G  •  6'2

Kyran Canete

Pahoa  •  Sr
G  •  5'7

Asher Starr

Seabury Hall  •  Jr
F  •  6'4

Estavon Garcia Morales

Kohala  •  Sr
F  •  6'2


SECOND TEAM

James Wong

Kohala  •  Fr
G  •  6'0

Kainoa Santos

Damien  •  Sr
G  •  5'7

Levi Damo-Agcaoili

Damien  •  Sr
G  •  5'8

Hilton Edward

Kaimuki  •  Sr
F  •  6'3

CJ Jenkins

Kapaa  •  Jr
F  •  6'6


THIRD TEAM

G: Elijah Fritz-Betiru, Kaimuki - Fr | 5'10
G: Talon Ea, Waipahu - Sr | 5'8
G: Kukia Tagabi, Honokaa - Sr | 5'11
G: Wyatt Ho-Williams, - Jr | 6'0
F: Laakea Kamahele, Le Jardin - Sr | 6'4

HONORABLE MENTION

Aiea: Jayson Chang
Damien: Alani Tuifua
Hanalani: Yoshua Vernes, Luke Cunningham
Hawaii Baptist: Alex Fujimoto, Cade Toyofuku
Hawaii Prep: Kingdon Simmons
Hawaiian Mission: Zion Soli
Island School: Piko Vaughn
Kaimuki: Russel Kinere, Manduy Pham
Kapaa: Shayden Manuel
Kau: Daelan Castillo
Kauai: Laurence Ganir
Kihei Charter: Dryson Norwood
Kohala: Sheldon Emeliano Jr., Dillon Oandasan
Kulanihakoi: Lawaia Walsh
Lanai: KJ Kanno
Le Jardin: Keaka Bennett, Vincent Thomas
Molokai: Kaizen Torres-Umi Napoleon
Pahoa: Riquezen Abadilla, Rysaiah Abadilla
Parker: Benjamin Dworkin, Liam Ticarro
Seabury Hall: Reagan Aguas, Peter Ruegsegger
Waianae: Janzen Butay, Thomas Tucker
Waimea: Diego Mariano, Edison Medina
Waipahu: Zyrus Sivongxay-Tokumoto

Player of the Year: Layden Kauka, Kohala, G, Sr.

To say Kauka was dominant in his senior campaign would be an understatment. The 6-foot-2 guard led all Division II scorers with a 27.5 per game average, was second in made three-pointers with 42 and shot an 86.7 percent clip from the free throw line. During a five game stretch in BIIF play in mid-January, Kauka amassed 30 or more points in each outing, including 42 points against Hawaii Prep and 41 two games after against Honokaa. Kauka earned All-Hawaii Division II POY honors for the third time in his prep career, and was also named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Coach of the Year: Kihei Kapeliela, Kohala

Kapeliela brought title number four back to the Kohala community, guiding the Cowboys to a perfect 12-0 mark in league play. Kohala won its games by a margin of nearly 35 points on average in BIIF play, and posted a number of impressive results in the preseason, including a win over De La Salle and a one point loss to host Iolani in the Classic. The Cowboys return two starters next season in freshmen James Wong and Sheldon Emeliano, Jr., but bid farewell to a long time core that includes Kauka and fellow first teamer Estavon Garcia Morales, seven seniors in total.