HONOLULU – The 2026 season for the Chaminade University softball team put together another year of growth.
Six seniors helped the Silverswords be a rather feisty group, giving their opponents all they could handle throughout the season.
Summer Buck (Honolulu/Kaiser) put together another outstanding season, finishing with a .385 batting average and an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of 1.111, all of which are career highs and also ranked in the Pacific West Conference's top six. She also drove in a team-high 24 runs. The junior catcher was the conference's leading hitter for much of the first half of the season with a staggering .500 average midway through the year. Buck turned that performance into a second team All-PacWest honor.
Joining Buck on the all-conference team at the utility spot was
Gabriella Schneider (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Alta Loma). Buck's backup catcher and designated player had one of the most drastic improvements in 2026. Because of the 'Swords' loaded lineup, Schneider spent most of her 2025 freshman campaign as a pinch-hitter with 34 at-bats. But summoned as a starter this season, she flourished, hitting .288 with 30 hits, 13 runs and 12 RBI.
Senior outfielder
Mikala Jacobsen (Buena Park, Calif./Cypress College/Cypress HS) had path similar to Schneider. With just 54 at-bats as a junior, Jacobsen became the 'Swords' primary centerfielder and lead-off batter in the lineup card where she hit .329, scoring 20 runs with six stolen bases.
Third baseman
Miranda Diaz (Whittier, Calif./Cerritos College/California HS) had a solid senior year, matching her previous season with 34 hits and finished third in RBI with 22. One of her biggest improvements was plate coverage. After striking out 13 times in 2025, Diaz K'd just six times this past season.
The breakout player might have been
Carisma Ta'amai (Oroville, Calif./Pleasant Valley), who played both first and second base. The freshman hit .295 with a team-leading four home runs including a dramatic three-run walk-off shot against Jessup on March 6, the first-ever documented walk-off homer in program history.
Other team rookie, sophomore
Sunni Kahanu (Mililani, O'ahu, Hawai'i/University of Hawai'i/Mililani HS), the team's first starter at shortstop since 2021 not named
Taryn Fujioka, had a respectable first year, hitting .280 with 23 runs and nine stolen bases.
Aside from Jacobsen and Diaz, the four other seniors bid aloha after four-year careers with the royal blue and white.
Bailey Benson (Cheney, Wash./Gonzaga Preparatory) had a team-best four wins in 2026 and wrapped up her career with 14 career victories, which places her at 14th in the career wins list while her three saves are tied for third.
Fellow pitcher
Kamryn Lopez (Bakersfield, Calif./Garces Memorial) was key part-time starter but was valuable out of the bullpen. Her 62 career relief appearances are top in program history.
Outfielder
Isabel Rodriguez (Littleton, Colo./Columbine) was dangerous on the basepaths, going 10-for-11 in stolen bases. She closed out her career with 18 steals which is ninth all-time.
And utility player
Elora Tonaki (Kapolei, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Hawai'i Technology Academy) was like a Swiss Army knife, playing at almost every position on the field except pitcher and first base. She was even an emergency catcher in her first two years.
Head coach
Kent Yamaguchi, who wrapped up his 21st year as Chaminade's skipper and 23rd overall – making him the longest tenured coach in Chaminade history – made more history early in the season. The program's all-time winningest coach added to his total with his 250th career victory on Feb. 14 against Cal Poly Humboldt.
While the 'Swords still flashed some power with a team slugging percentage of .358, they were much more aggressive on the base paths in 2026 with 48 steal attempts, the most since 1991 when that team attempted to swipe 56 bags.
The Silverswords also managed three wins in Southern California including a four-game series split at Azusa Pacific, the first-ever such occurrence in the SoCal region in the long history of the program.
