Coming off a freshman season where he was Named 1st Team All-America by ABCA/Rawlings, as well as Pacific Association Southern California Regional 1st Team, the Southern California Pitcher of the Year and South Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year, sophomore Derek Valdez (Los Alamitos HS) has committed to the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. He will have two years of eligibility with the Rainbow Warriors.

In his freshman year, Valdez (pictured, left) went 13-2 with five complete games and a 1.50 ERA in 120 1/3 innings, with his wins and ERA leading the state. His 13 wins on the mound were tied for the fifth most in a season in school history, while his innings were tied for the eighth most. A pitcher with great command of his pitches, Valdez allowed just 97 hits and struck out 79 batters as a freshman. He also picked up two of his wins in the postseason and went at least 6 1/3 innings in his final 15 starts on the year.

Valdez was so locked in during the 2024 season, he tossed consecutive complete game shutouts and at one point, went 28 consecutive innings without allowing a run.

He has started his sophomore year in the same fashion, as he's 2-0 with a 2.09 ERA and has 10 strikeouts in his first 13 innings. As recently as Saturday against Los Angeles Valley College, Valdez tossed seven innings and allowed just one run (unearned) and struck out seven batters.

Last season, the Rainbow Warriors went 37-16 on the year, which included posting a 26-10 record at home. They start the 2025 season with a four-game series at home against Marshall University. The team currently consists of 16 players who played at a variety of community colleges, with nine of them from California.