10/23/2019 - Under Armour SoCal Classic, powered by Baseball Factory's Team One
Keola continues to show as a prospect with his baseball abilities. At the plate, he shows an open setup. He is aggressive as he attacks balls through a level swing path. Hands are quick (85 mph exit velocity) and he has strength in his swing and stays inside the ball, utilizing all fields with gap-to-gap pop. Behind the dish, he presents a soft/sure mitt showing great pocket awareness sticking pitches. Quick lateral movements allow him to center/deaden pitches in the dirt off of a soft chest. Receiving / blocking skills show as outstanding tools that will play well at the next level. Pop times showed in 2.10 range with accuracy on his throws. Times will continue to drop as he builds more arm strength through a long toss program. Keola is very coachable, works hard, and has an upside with his offensive / defensive abilities.
08/11/2019 - College PREP - Waipahu (Honolulu), HI
Keola is a tall and athletic catcher. Behind the plate, Keola has an athletic setup and presents a firm glove. As he receives the ball to make a throw to 2B he creates momentum and makes clean exchanges getting rid of the ball with a short arm action. His throws are accurate and online to the 1B side of the bag. He shows solid footwork that is effective and shows a strong ability to block the ball laterally. At the plate, Keola sets up in an athletic stance and starts his load with a short stride. He keeps his balance centered as he fires his lower half through showing fast bat speed. His power shows to the pull side as he gets good extension. Keola shows to be a solid catcher that can handle pitchers and control the run game.
01/13/2019 - National Tryout Plus - Honolulu, HI
Keola posted new highs in radar velocity and exit velocity during his last workout in Honolulu. Raw arm velo was clocked at 77 MPH and bat exit at 86 MPH. Behind the plate, Keola continues to show good size through a tall/athletic frame. He sits in well, catches squarely, and looks the ball into his glove. He keeps it in front when blocking and has a strong/accurate arm to 2nd base. Offensively, Keola has a tall stance, he loads well, and flashes fast bat speed. He is a strong hitter with pull side pop and he uses his lower body. Continuing to loosen overall actions and increase flexibility can help overall abilities improve.
01/21/2018 - National Tryout Plus - Kapolei (Honolulu), HI
Keola continues to show as a prospect on the diamond. At the plate is where he shows best through an athletic setup. Hands are quick and work through a level swing path. He stays inside the ball, utilizing all fields and he has strength in his swing with power showing best to the pull side. He shows a feel for the barrel with the baseball jumping off the bat when centered. Behind the plate, pop times in the 2.16 range with accuracy on his throws. Feet are active working in line through a clean transfer / exchange. Times will continue to drop as he builds more arm strength through a long toss program and works to get rid of the baseball quicker. Glove action is soft as he sticks balls well in the zone. He uses his body well through the blocking process but needs to improve flexibility and work to get down sooner.
12/27/2017 - Under Armour Baseball Factory Recruiting Classic (Ages 14-18)
Keola continues to show improvements in his baseball abilities and has a bright future on the diamond. At the plate is where he has improved the most trough a tall / open setup. Hands are quick (81 mph exit velocity) and work through a level swing path. He has strength in his swing and shows a plus feel for the barrel through a line drive approach. At the plate, he was 3 for 9 with a 2B. Behind the plate, pop times showed in the 2.20 range with accuracy on his throws. Times will continue to drop as he builds more arm strength. He shows a solid setup and soft glove action, sticking balls in the zone well. He utilizes his body well through the blocking process but needs to work to get body down sooner. Mental makeup is a plus as he is very coachable and plays the game hard.
08/13/2017 - National Tryout Plus - Kapolei (Honolulu), HI
Keola continues to show improvements in his baseball abilities and has a promising future on the diamond. Behind the plate, pop times have improved as he threw his lowest time to date at 2.13 with accuracy on his throws. Feet are active working in line through a clean transfer / exchange as he gets rid of the baseball quickly. Times will continue to drop as he builds more arm strength through a long toss program. Glove action is soft as he sticks balls well in the zone. He uses his body well through the blocking process and is a wall behind the plate. At the plate, hitting / power potential has improved through a tall, athletic setup. Hands are quick (86 mph exit velocity) and work through a level swing path. He stays inside the ball, utilizing all fields with gap-to-gap pop. Power will increase as he utilizes his lower half more efficiently.
07/14/2017 - California Select Training & Competition - Session 2 (Ages 14-18)
Keola continues to show improvements in his baseball abilities. Foot speed has improved as he ran his best 60 time to date. Behind the plate, pop times have improved as he threw his lowest time to date at 2.14. Feet are active working in line through a clean transfer / exchange as he gets rid of the baseball quickly. Times will continue to drop as he builds more arm strength through a long toss program. Glove action is soft as he sticks balls well in the zone through the receiving process. He uses his body well through the blocking process but needs to work to get body down sooner. He is a vocal leader on the field and shows a solid feel for the game. At the plate, he shows an athletic setup. Hands are loose and work through a level swing path. He works to keep hands inside the ball, utilizing all fields through a line drive approach. Power will continue to improve as he works to utilize his lower half more aggressively. Mental makeup is a plus as he is very coachable and works hard to be the best player he can be. With 3 years to further develop, Keola has a lot of potential with time and room to continue to progress his game.
01/29/2017 - National Tryout Plus - Kapolei (Honolulu), HI
Keola is a 2020 catching prospect with a strong lower body that works well behind the dish. He is an advanced receiver with the ability to frame pitches and get extra strikes for his pitchers. His feet work in line to gain ground on the ball and he tracks the ball well to receive with a firm wrist. He gets down to block and deadens the ball to center with his chest. At the dish, he displays an easy, middle approach, keeping his hands inside the ball to hit it where it is pitched. He works to use his lower half to generate bat speed and has a level path to the ball and uses all fields for base hits. Getting his front foot down earlier will get his hands started and allow him to catch up to higher velocity. Keola is an interesting, young prospect we will definitely keep an eye on.
01/13/2017 - Baseball Factory Spring Training in Arizona (Ages 14-18)
Keola is a young C/3B prospect with a large frame that he uses well behind the plate to create a big target. He is a very good blocker, getting down quickly to smother balls in the dirt and keep runners at bay. He shows good understanding of the game and feel for calling pitches to take control and help out his pitchers. His hands are quick to exchange and release when throwing down to second and he gets the ball there fast with a low pop time of 2.36 seconds. At the plate, he has a square setup that is repeatable to keep his swing consistent from pitch to pitch and at-bat to at-bat. He makes consistent contact to put the ball in play and puts pressure on the defense to make a play and get him out. Working on staying through the ball and getting extension through contact will result in harder contact and more base hits moving forward. Keola is an intriguing prospect we look forward to watching progress.
08/14/2016 - College PREP - Kapolei (Honolulu), HI
Keola is a young (2020 grad) R/R Catcher with a lean athletic frame (6'0 185lbs). Sitting comfortably in a crouched position at the plate, Keola strides square to pitcher while maintaining good head posture over the balls of his feet. This right handed hitter shows average bat speed and the ability to hit ball foul line to foul line. Creating an earlier rhythm and separation with the pitcher will allow this young hitter to drive the baseball through the middle of the diamond more consistently. This backstop shows ability to cut angles on while blocking balls in the dirt and is soft off his chest with quick reaction to recover. Keola shows ability to be consistent and accurate with efficient footwork on his throws. Keola is a young backstop with good upside and with continued growth will be a great fit for many college programs.