The Hawaii men’s basketball team is on a spring mission.

University of Utah guard Hunter Erickson became the latest native of the Beehive State to pledge himself to the Rainbow Warriors for the 2025-26 season on Tuesday, adding to recent announcements from Evansville guard Tanner Cuff and Utah State center Isaac Johnson.

The 6-foot-3 Erickson, who averaged 3.8 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.8 turnovers in 17.8 minutes per game as a backup this season for the Runnin’ Utes, hails from Provo. Next season will be his sixth year of college basketball; he attended Salt Lake Community College and BYU, and went on a two-year church mission before playing at UU. Cuff and Johnson are from American Fork, Utah, and both played at American Fork High. Cuff, like Erickson, played at SLCC.

“New year in paradise,” Erickson wrote on his Instagram page.

The common thread between the spring pickups could be UH assistant coach Gibson Johnson, a SLCC alumnus from Centerville, Utah, who went on to play for UH head coach Eran Ganot for his last two years of college ball. Johnson, who is entering his second season as a full UH assistant, was instrumental in bringing Big West honorable mention center Tanner Christensen over from Utah Tech for the past season.

Ganot is entering the final year of his contract in 2025-26, which will be his 11th as UH coach. He received a statement of support, but not an extension from acting athletic director Lois Manin last month.

Sources told Spectrum News that Hawaii has been aggressive in the NIL market to gain the commitments.

Erickson played against Hawaii in 2023-24 and scored a season-high 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting off the bench against the Rainbow Warriors. It ended up being the second-highest scoring output of his Utah career; he had 18 against Radford in 2024-25.

He shot 40% from the field, 34.7% on 3-pointers and 82.1% on free throws the last season, when Utah played a Big 12 schedule for the first time and went 16-17, losing in the first round of the new College Basketball Crown postseason tournament in Las Vegas.

UH also has a fall signee in Hunter Carter, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard from Tacoma, Wash., and Accelerated Prep.

The regular signing period begins April 16.

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