Kainoa Wade literally had a front-row seat to watch his father build the University of Hawaii men’s volleyball program into a national power.
The younger Wade took a step toward one day taking the floor for the Rainbow Warriors in confirming his commitment to UH on Thursday, the first day college coaches — including his father, UH coach Charlie Wade — were able to officially contact members of the 2025 high school graduating class.
“We were joking that he’s going to call me at 12:01 (a.m.) on June 15,” Kainoa Wade said.
Wade, a rising junior at Kamehameha, didn’t wait much longer to make the announcement in a social media post featuring the 6-foot-8 opposite in a UH uniform alongside one of the program’s NCAA championship trophies.
“I’ve been telling people for a while now, but it’s good to get it out for the public eye and let family and friends and everybody know,” Kainoa Wade said.
Wade said his father “congratulated me and gave me a good talk about what to do and to be a professional about it.”
He can make his commitment official by signing a National Letter of Intent during his senior year and would make his SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center debut in the 2026 season.
“This has been a dream of mine since I’ve been alive,” Wade said. “And the program has been winning my entire life, so it’s been great to watch and to grow up around it, and now I’m going to get a chance to play in front of the fans in the Stan. It means the world to me.”
After celebrating the national championship in 2021 and ’22 along with his family, Wade was busy helping Kamehameha capture the ILH title this season while his father led UH to its fourth straight appearance in the NCAA final in Fairfax, Va.
Kainoa Wade closed his sophomore season by putting away 30 kills on 88 attempts in the Division I state championship match against Punahou. He also popped up 10 digs, was in on 10 blocks and served three aces in the match, which Punahou won in a reverse sweep at the Cannon Activities Center in Laie. He finished with 61 kills in 157 swings in three state tournament matches and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
“We were right there and we’re going to be right there again next year,” Wade said. “It’s if we can make the final push, but I think we’ve got a great chance.”
As for this summer, he’s planning to play in the AAU Boys’ Junior National Volleyball Championships in Orlando, Fla., which runs June 30 to July 4, and will compete in local tournaments as well.
With the first piece of the Warriors’ 2025 recruiting class in place, Wade’s mindset quickly turned from recruit to recruiter in his conversation with his father Thursday morning.
“We actually talked about other recruits and trying to get more,” Kainoa said.
