That painful decision that nearly all athletes face at some point in their career had already been made.

Oakland Scanlan was back home in Hawaii, following in his dad’s footsteps working as a heavy equipment operator among other things.

A baseball player at Pearl City and Waipahu in high school, Scanlan played a season of NAIA ball at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin and a year of junior college baseball at Feather River College in California.

A hamstring injury in junior college kept Scanlan out for half of the conference season and with his JUCO eligibility up, it was time to go to work.

“Basically, my career was over,” said Scanlan, a Waipahu graduate. “I was ready to accept the fact that it’s time to grow up. My dad was a retired heavy equipment operator so I just kind of started to ride his back and work.”

He hadn’t picked up a baseball bat since he left California and was on his way to the next chapter of life when, as is the case many times, a phone call changed everything.

“It was maybe July and the coach (at Wisconsin-Milwaukee) called me out of nowhere,” Scanlan said. “He had heard about me from one of my coaches in Texas and had asked for my video, so I had given it to him. He called me and just offered me right then and there.”

Scanlan, who transferred from Pearl City to Waipahu in high school and then went to two colleges in two years was on the move again.

Now based in Milwaukee, Wisc., Scanlan is making the most of his latest opportunity.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound junior has started 16 of the 17 games he’s played in and is second on the team among players with at least nine starts with a .328 batting average.

Three of his five extra-base hits are home runs and he’s driven in 12 runs with a team-leading .508 slugging percentage.

The Panthers opened their Horizon League season against Youngstown State last weekend. Scanlan hit a two-run double and added a towering solo home run in a 14-7 win on Sunday to win the series.

“We started slow but we’d been practicing in a gym the entire time after we got back from winter break so it’s a little different,” Scanlan said. “I think I could be doing a lot better, but I also feel good.

“Being given the opportunity to play the game has been a blessing and keeping the mind-set to see every pitch of every at-bat with a purpose has helped everything to fall into place.”

Scanlan has played at four different levels of baseball over the past four years. Each place has brought a different viewpoint on how to play the game of baseball, and now he’s meshing everything he’s learned into one pretty good weapon for the Panthers’ offense.

“Every level has been different,” Scanlan said. “Texas was more laid back and practices were slow, but then I went to junior college and the work ethic you have to have at that level is really incredible.

“Then I got here and it’s a different kind of work ethic. It’s hard to explain, but basically, the coaches expect you to understand that you’re here for a reason. You should know you have the talent. They keep everything organized and expected you to just be the player you are.”

The Panthers are 4-4 in their past eight games after starting the season 2-8.

Wisconsin-Milwaukee hasn’t made the NCAA tournament since 2010, when it was the No. 4 seed in the Tempe Regional with Arizona State, San Diego and Hawaii.

The Panthers lost 6-2 to the Sun Devils and then 22-1 against the Toreros. USD was eliminated in the regional after losing twice to the Rainbow Warriors.

“I didn’t have the money to go to college so when I got the opportunity in Texas, I took it,” Scanlan said. “I’ve just gone where baseball has taken me and hopefully it can go a little further.”

AROUND THE NATION

BASEBALL

>> Codie Paiva, Kamehameha ’15: The Loyola Marymount junior right-hander allowed one run on five hits in six innings with one walk and five strikeouts to improve to 2-2 for the season in a 10-3 victory over Valparaiso on Friday.

>> Tyler Yamaguchi, Mid-Pacific ’15: The Northern Colorado junior shortstop finished 6-for-14 with a walk, double, two runs scored and four RBIs to help the Bears win three of four against UC Davis over the weekend.

>> Cal Muramaru, Mid-Pacific ’14: The Puget Sound senior earned the Logger Club Logger of the week award from the school after totaling nine hits, four doubles, six runs scored and two stolen bases in four games last week. Muramaru had two three-hit games and is now batting a team-leading .444 this season.

>> Mason Quinlan, Kamehameha ’16: The Puget Sound first baseman hit two home runs and finished 3-for-4 with four runs scored and four RBIs in a 14-5 win over Pacific (Ore.) on Sunday to complete a series sweep.

>> James DeJesus, Kamehameha ’14: The Puget Sound senior center fielder finished 4-for-8 with a triple, two walks, run scored and RBI in the sweep of the Boxers.

>> Makoa Mau, Kamehameha ’16: The Puget Sound left-hander tossed eight shutout innings and allowed four hits and three walks with five strikeouts to improve to 3-1 for the season in a 5-0 shutout of Pacific (Ore.) on Saturday.

>> Cole Cabrera, Punahou ’17: The Cal Poly freshman singled home the Mustangs’ first run with two outs in the ninth inning of a 3-2 loss to San Diego State on Sunday.

WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS

>> Maela Lazaro, Moanalua ’16: The Oregon State sophomore earned a 9.850 on the balance beam in a quad-meet win over Arizona State, UC Davis and Sacramento State on Friday.

>> Chloe Camello, Sacred Hearts ’17: The Air Force freshman scored a 9.750 on the vault to finish in third place in a win over Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

SOFTBALL

>> Kamalani Dung, Kamehameha ’15: The California junior right-hander tossed a two-hit shutout with one walk and three strikeouts to improve to 14-0 for the season in a 12-0 win over Oregon State on Saturday.

>> Karly Macadangdang, Mililani ’14: The Sonoma State senior first baseman, who was named the California Collegiate Athletic Association player of the week on March 13, went 4-for-5 with a run scored and two stolen bases in a doubleheader sweep of Pace University on Wednesday.

>> Taylor Nishimura, Waiakea ’16: The Pacific (Ore.) sophomore had a pinch-hit sacrifice fly that scored the game-winning run with two outs in a four-run seventh inning to help the Boxers earn a doubleheader split against Willamette (Ore.) on Monday with a 4-3 victory.

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

>> Kadara Marshall, Waiakea ’16: The Dickinson State sophomore jumped 11.29 meters (about 37 feet) to place 16th in the triple jump at the NAIA Indoor Championships that wrapped up March 3 in Pittsburg, Kansas. Marshall had not jumped since high school and played volleyball the last two seasons at Western Nebraska Community College.

Stats compiled by Billy Hull, Star-Advertiser. To submit an athlete for publication, email: bhull@staradvertiser.com.