HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Legendary University of Hawaii head baseball coach Les Murakami is being inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame, the College Baseball Foundation announced Monday.
As the father of UH baseball, Murakami took over the program in 1971 as its first-ever head coach and in less than 10 years, he turned the Bows into a scrappy national contender, leading the team to its only College World Series appearance in 1980.
Murakami will be inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame’s 2026 class, joining his former star player Derek Tatsuno as the only UH members in the Hall.
He’s is the winningest coach in team history with 1,079 victories over 30 seasons, six Western Athletic Conference titles, and two WAC Coach of the Year honors.
Success through a philosophy built on discipline and toughness with a special focus on keeping local talent home.
“I’ll always remember as coach les being that guy that you kind of feared, yet you respected,” said former UH standout and All-American Kenny Harrison, who played under Murakami from 1990 to 1993. “You knew he was there for one reason and that was to get you better as a person and as a player.”
As the architect of the program, Murakami played an instrumental role in the construction of Rainbow Stadium, which is now fittingly named after him.
“He knew we had to build a new stadium,” said former UH catcher (1976-1979) and assistant coach Ron Nomura. ‘He made the initiative, kind of went over the athletic director’s head, made friends at the state legislature and like anything else, if you get the money and the funding, and built a beautiful stadium.”
The induction ceremony is scheduled for February in Overland Park, Kansas, which is the home of the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
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