Nick Cenacle, a Canadian who went from role player to Hawaii football’s most productive receiver in 2024, announced Tuesday night that he has entered the NCAA transfer portal.

It was the latest blow to a UH pass-catching corps that, barring some portal reversals like quarterback Brayden Schager last winter, must be heavily reconstructed in 2025.

The 6-foot-2 Cenacle appeared in all 12 games with team highs of 63 catches for 721 yards. His six receiving touchdowns were tied with Pofele Ashlock for UH’s most.

Cenacle posted a thank-you message to the program on social media.

“Representing this team and community has been an incredible honor which I will cherish for the rest of my life,” he wrote in part.

“This decision was not made lightly, as the University of Hawaii has been such an important part of my growth as a student-athlete. With one year of eligibility remaining, I believe this move is the best step for me to achieve my academic and athletic goals.”

Deep ball threat Dekel Crowdus, 6-foot-5 wideout Alex Perry and utility player Tylan Hines also entered the portal this month. So did Koali Nishigaya, a captain who left the team at midseason.

Jonah Panoke, Spencer Curtis and Tamatoa Mokiao-Atimalala completed their eligibility with UH's 38-30 win over New Mexico on senior night on Nov. 30. Steven McBride, 2023’s top receiver, missed the whole 2024 season because of an NCAA eligibility issue and declared for the NFL Draft this month.

Ashlock, a sophomore who was Schager’s favorite target for the first half of the season, was limited over the second half while recovering from hits to the head. But he leads next year’s expected crop of returnees that includes senior Karsyn Pupunu, Tama Uiliata, Blaze Kamoku, Dino Heimuli and a few others.

After Ashlock’s 61 grabs in 2024, other returning receivers have a total of five catches, with Uiliata three and Kamoku two.

Among the 14 players UH signed during the 2025 early signing period were three players listed at receiver: Saint Louis School’s Titan Lacaden, Bishop Gorman/Mililani High’s Brandon Gaea and Kahuku alum Kainoa “Kaikai” Carvalho, a one-time Utah commit from Kahuku who has spent the last two years on a church mission. Gaea will greyshirt, coach Timmy Chang said on signing day.

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