Punahou's Larry Tuileta had originally committed to play both football and volleyball at the University of Hawaii, but instead will take his chances as a walk-on at USC. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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More than 50 high school seniors signed their National Letters of Intent at the 10th Annual Pacific Islands Athletic Alliance Signing Day event Wednesday morning. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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WAIKIKI — Fifty-five high school seniors put their futures in writing Wednesday morning at the annual Pacific Islands Athletic Alliance National Letter of Intent Signing Day ceremony.

With their family and friends gathered at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel, the student-athletes — who came from as far as Kailua-Kona — signed and faxed their binding letters to respective universities and colleges across the country. The group included athletes signing to play football, soccer, softball and cross country.

Most of the athletes had given a verbal commitment to their future school beforehand, but one — Punahou football player Larry "Tui" Tuileta — made a surprising choice. Tuileta, who quarterbacked the Buffanblu to a state title last Fall, had originally committed to play both football and volleyball at the University of Hawaii, but instead will take his chances as a walk-on at USC.

"It was a really tough decision," said Tuileta, the ScoringLive All-Hawaii Division I Offensive Player of the Year. "I went up to visit and then I came back down here and took my visit to UH. It was family decision. It was a decision between two great programs and this is what I decided to do."

Tuileta would have been one of eight local signees at the event to sign with the hometown Warriors.

"I'm in complete support of the University of Hawaii program and I just hope they're in support of me, too," Tuileta said. "I know they'll be doing great — their program is great, they're getting great players from home."

Among those that did sign with UH was Mililani linebacker/running back Dayton Furuta.

"It feels great knowing that all the hard work has finally paid off," Furuta said. "I think the biggest reason I signed with UH is so I can stay home and represent my home state and play in front of my family."

Kapolei defensive tackle Kalani Vakameilalo, the state's top recruit according to several national recruiting websites, is one of two local players at the ceremony that signed with Oregon State. 

"It's just a blessing — I'm really speechless right now, but I just want to thank everybody for what they did," Vakameilalo said. "The academic support at Oregon State is real good and the area is all compact — everything is all together — so you can never be late for class, so it was the perfect fit for me away from distractions."

Vakameilalo's Kapolei teammate, offensive lineman Micah Kapoi, is headed a little further east. He signed with Wisconsin Wednesday morning after previously verbally committing to UH.

"It was more of the coaches staying on me. From the start of the season to the end, they were on me constant and I liked that they were interested in me," Kapoi said. "They knew what they wanted out of me and I knew what I wanted out of them and it all came down to the official visit."

Meanwhile, Kamehameha linebacker Calen Holt saw a golden opportunity by signing with the United States Military Academy at West Point.

"I want to be a federal agent after Army and it fits perfectly into playing for Army," said Holt, a First Team All-Hawaii selection. "You get a great education at Army and get to play football at the Division-I level. It gives me good experience and hopefully I'll get into a federal agency after that."

A pair of Iolani classmates, soccer players Nycole Mitsuyasu and Josh Adachi, put their commitments to Nevada and the University of the Pacific, respectively, in writing.

"It's very exciting and I am very excited for the future," said Mitsuyasu, a midfielder on the Raiders' girls soccer team.

Mitsuyasu credited PIAA with helping her along the length recruiting process.

"I actually went to a PIAA combine, which I used some results from to share with my coach and them putting together this event just ultimately is a way to express the gratitude of the Hawaii student-athletes and we're all very grateful for the PIAA organization," Mitsuyasu said.

Both are thankful to get the signing over with as their respective teams look to make a run to state championships.

"For us it's nice to get this out of the way," said Adachi, a goal keeper on the undefeated Iolani boys' team. "Now we have our future set and we know what we're going to do so now we can turn our sights back to soccer for high school and just worry about the state tournament."

A complete list of attendees at the event is listed below.

National Letter of Intent signees
Name, High School, Sport, College/University
Joshua Adachi, Iolani, soccer, Univ. of Pacific
KJ Ahlo, Iolani, soccer, San Francisco
Adam Amosa, Campbell, football, Navy
Lucas Beddow, Iolani, football, Dixie State
Catharine Brady, Punahou, soccer, Fairfield
Ruairi Brady, Punahou, football, Harvard
Taylor Cabbab, Campbell, soccer, Hawaii Pacific
Sarah Davis, Kamehameha, soccer, Utah Valley
Tavita Eli, Kealakehe, football, Hawaii
Henry Engle, Punahou, soccer, Pitzer
Kingston Fernandez, Kapolei, football, Washington State
Fitou Fisiiahi, Kaiser, football, Oregon State
Sonest Furtado, Waianae, soccer, Hawaii
Dayton Furuta, Mililani, football, Hawaii
Dallas Garringer-Kaapuni, Nanakuli, football, Briar Cliff
Kaaumoana Gifford, Kamehameha, football, University of Hawaii
Kiani Halushka, soccer, Hawaii
Sakalaia Hungalu Jr., McKinley, football, Azusa Pacific
Hannah Kaina, Kamehameha, soccer, Hawaii Pacific
Tristan Kamaka, Leilehua, football, Midland (Neb.)
Roblynn Kami, Pearl City, softball, Midland (Tex.)
Micah Kapoi, Kapolei, football, Wisconsin
Kahoalii Karratti, Kaiser, football, Southern Utah
Jacob Lacaden, Saint Louis, football, Nevada
Donald Lambert Jr., Moanalua, football, Hawaii
Donnel Lefotu, Pearl City, football, Mayville State
Waylen Lindsey, Campbell, football, Western Oregon
Cody Lui-Yuen, Radford, football, Alabama A&M
Hercules Mataafa, Lahainaluna, football, Washington State
Kierren McGhee, Pearl City, football, Sterling
Kaleipuakea Meyer, Kamehameha, football, Nevada
Nycole Mitsuyasu, Iolani, soccer, Nevada
Kayla Mizo, Kamehameha, soccer, Idaho State
Luke Morris, Punahou, football, Georgetown
Maake Muti, Leilehua, football, Azusa Pacific
Kelii Padello, Mililani, football, Southern Oregon
Sage Parker-Lee, Sacred Hearts, soccer, Loyola Marymount
Tasi Reed, La Pietra, soccer, CSU-Pueblo
Joshua Rosenberg, Kamehameha, soccer, Dominican
James Roy, Damien, football, College of Idaho
Bo Samson, Sacred Hearts, soccer, Northeastern
Jaisen Sanchez, Saint Louis, football, Colorado
Mason Semisi, Farrington, football, Virginia Union
Maile Shigemasa, Pearl City, cross country, Creighton
Chad Souza, Kamehameha, football, Western Oregon
Dani Stollar, Punahou, soccer, Harvard
Janelle Stone, Kamehameha, soccer, Colorado State
Devan Stubblefield, Saint Louis, football, Hawaii
Emily Tanaka, Iolani, soccer, Pepperdine
Dakota Torres, Punahou, football, Hawaii
Larry Tuileta, Punahou, football, Southern California
Louis Vailopa, Saint Louis, Hawaii, Eastern Illinois
Kalani Vakameilalo, Kapolei, football, Oregon State
Jonah Wataru, Iolani, football, Azusa Pacific
Manly Williams, Farrington, football, Hawaii