At the age of 17, Tread Rosenthal made a bold decision to leave high school early and join college volleyball at the University of Hawaii. This risk paid off when he was named Big West Freshman of the Year, a first for the Hawaii men’s volleyball program. Standing at 6-foot-8, Rosenthal hails from Manhattan Beach, California, and is a member of the U.S. junior national team.
Throughout the season, Rosenthal demonstrated his skills by earning All-Big West first-team honors and receiving a record six Big West Freshman of the Week awards. Despite some rookie mistakes, Rosenthal excelled in various aspects of the game, leading the team in service aces and assists per set.
While this was the first time a Hawaii player was named Big West Freshman of the Year, the program has had three players receive similar honors in the past when they were in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The end of UH’s streak for Big West player of the year awards came as UC Irvine’s Hilir Henno received the honor, breaking a four-year streak for the Hawaii program. Unfortunately, UH’s season came to an end in the Big West semifinals at the hands of UC Irvine, marking the end of their four-year NCAA Tournament appearance streak. The NCAA Tournament is set to begin on April 30 at Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid, where teams will compete for the national title. Brian McInnis covers Hawaii’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii and can be contacted at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.