HONOLULU — A 12-year-old Tread Rosenthal watched the likes of Joe and Gage Worsley, Rado Parapunov, Stein Van Tilburg and Colton Cowell claim Hawaii’s first Big West title and reach the cusp of a national championship in 2019.

A teenage Rosenthal saw the pandemic prematurely erase another opportunity for NCAA glory, until the Rainbow Warriors finally broke through as the best men’s volleyball team in the land with Jakob Thelle at the controls in 2021 and 2022.

And Rosenthal, by that point a rising star in the U.S. junior national team ranks, observed well-established UH fall just short of making it three straight in 2023.

What You Need To Know

  • The Hawaii men's volleyball team opens its 2024 season against Loyola Chicago at at 7 p.m. at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on Wednesday

  • UH will have new faces at a few starting positions, including at setter, where 17-year-old freshman Tread Rosenthal is expected to step in for the graduated Jakob Thelle, the 2023 AVCA Player of the Year

  • Coach Charlie Wade urged patience from observers when it comes to the progress from both the team and Rosenthal, who is the U.S. junior national team's starting setter

  • Hitters Spyros Chakas and Chaz Galloway and middle Guilherme Voss are the team's seniors whom others will look to for leadership

On Wednesday, Rosenthal, a 17-year-old freshman setter from Manhattan Beach, Calif., will get a chance to play with some of the same players he’d watched for years. He’ll step into the gigantic shoes left behind by Thelle, last season’s AVCA Player of the Year, as Hawaii debuts in 2024 against Loyola Chicago at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

“I’ve been dreaming of this since I watched the 2019 Big West championship year. It’s been a long time waiting,” Rosenthal said on Tuesday.

UH coach Charlie Wade cautioned patience from UH’s volleyball faithful as the young distributor gets up to speed with the college game. In the big picture, he figures, the 'Bows' pieces should come together for another deep postseason run.

But at the same time, Wade’s own excitement for the short term was barely contained; he called the 6-foot-8 Rosenthal a “6-10 Joe Worsley,” after the former UH All-American who made up for his 6-1 height with a flair for sets from all angles and avenues.

Rosenthal reclassified last summer to graduate early and joined UH for its offseason trips, including Japan in November, and got to play alongside some of those he’d watched for so long, like Guilherme Voss, Spyros Chakas and Chaz Galloway, who are now UH’s senior leaders.

“He came and watched us play in Irvine in October (2022), in what was then like his junior year,” Wade recalled. “After the game he came up to me and said, ‘I want to play with those guys.’ He kind of put the whole academic thing into hyperdrive, and here he is. (A) pretty goal-oriented guy, goes after things and gets them accomplished.”

Wade wants to keep things straightforward to start the year and expects no shortage of shortcomings as UH has replaced not just its setter, but its starting opposite (Dimitrios Mouchlias), one of its middles (Cole Hogland) and its libero (Brett Sheward) from its starting lineup.

“I’ve gotta remind (Rosenthal) that the offense that Jakob Thelle ran as a senior and Joe Worsley ran as a senior is not the one they ran as a freshman,” he said, “so, to be really patient and focused on making sure they’re (setting) hittable balls. The idea is to side out, get the ball back, serve and play defense.”

Rosenthal hails from a family of athletes. His father, Mike, and mother, Lindsay, attended Notre Dame and played football and volleyball, respectively. Mike went on to play nine years as an offensive tackle in the NFL with the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings. Tread has two sisters, Kasen and Tanon, who are playing indoor and beach volleyball at Arizona.

Tread Rosenthal’s resume is already extensive. As a starting setter, he led the U.S. to gold medals at the NORCECA U19 Pan Am Cup in 2022 and 2023.

Count Galloway, UH’s high-flying hitter, among the impressed. In the Japan trip, he saw Rosenthal run offenses effectively at different tempos.

“Tread’s an incredible athlete,” Galloway said. “He holds himself to a high standard and he’s very professional. We love to see that out of a setter. … He’s just going to continue to get better.”

For Rosenthal’s part, he said the volleyball IQ of the UH veterans is “something I’ve never seen before” in his experience with the national team and Mira Costa High.

“It’s great to learn from them. You just gotta sit there, listen,” Rosenthal said. He expects the size of the home crowd Wednesday to be a similar jump from what he's used to.

UH is coming off its highest win total in a season in program history at 29-3 and finished ranked No. 2 in 2023. Loyola Chicago finished No. 13 with a 21-7 record. The AVCA has not yet issued a 2024 national poll, but UH was picked to finish second in the Big West preseason poll and Loyola Chicago was tabbed second in that of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association.

UH has won its last 10 season openers dating to 2014, and is 12-2 in openers under Wade. UH and LUC will rematch on Friday.

Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.