“I really didn’t talk to anyone from Oakland,” Komine said in a telephone interview from Nebraska, where he is preparing for Friday’s opener against Richmond in an NCAA baseball Super Regional. “I had heard they had drafted a lot of college seniors (in past years). It’s pretty surprising. I’m really happy.”

He was the first player with ties to Hawai‘i to be selected. Komine, a senior, was a 19th-round pick by St. Louis last year, but opted to return for his senior season with the Cornhuskers.

“I said all year long that I had no regrets about coming back,” he said. “With the (shoulder) injury, it looked like it might not work out. But I’m happy with things now.”

Komine had surgery on his acromioclavicular joint (AC) in September, but recovered in time for the season. In his last outing in a 9-1 regional win against Marist, Komine pitched a complete game, allowing a run on five hits with 12 strikeouts.

“I’m feeling great right now,” he said. “I think I had my best game of the year this past week.”

Also a University of Hawai‘i recruit was taken by Montreal in the 10th round. Left-handed pitcher Justin Azze out of Orange Coast College signed a letter of intent to play for the Rainbows in November.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Azze was 9-5 with a 2.74 earned run average. He throws a fastball at about the 86-78 mph with a curve and “good change,” according to OC coach John Altobelli. Azze was a second team Orange Empire/Mission Conference selection.

Iolani School graduate Kainoa Obrey, The Advertiser Player of the Year in 1998, was an 11th-round pick by the Kansas City Royals out of Brigham Young University.

Obrey, who red-shirted after the Cougars visited Hawai‘i February because of pain in his lower back, played in only 10 games, batting .242 with one home run and 8 RBI.

“I remember he was so disappointed he wasn’t drafted out of high school,” recalled Royals scout Eric Tokunaga. “He said he would be ready for 2002, so this is like a dream come true.”

Tokunaga said Obrey can consistently hit the ball to all fields.

Obrey said he was surprised to be picked because he had been inactive. But scouts saw him working out at BYU and liked what they saw. The Royals invited him to a tryout in California. Now he has a tough decision to make.

“You never know with these type of things,” he said. “I was fortunate they did get to see me play.”

Also, left-handed pitcher Reid Santos, a Castle High graduate at Saddleback JC, was picked in the 13th-round by Cleveland. He was drafted by Montreal in the 23rd round in 2000 out of Castle and last year in the 42nd round by Texas out of Saddleback.

Santos was out this season, rehabilitating from elbow surgery.

Iolani School senior Micah Kila Ka‘aihue was taken in the 15th round by the Royals, the first Hawai‘i prep player taken.

Ka‘aihue, son of former Hawaii Islanders player and bullpen coach Kala Ka‘aihue, is a two-time Advertiser all-state selection.

It was kind of a confusing day for Ka‘aihue. He said the Royals called him during the seventh round. He agreed to an offer, but wasn’t selected. He wouldn’t disclose what the offer was, but it was enough for him to turn away a scholarship from Nebraska.
“It was a good offer,” he said.

Kamehameha graduate ('98) Duke Sardinha, a junior at Pepperdine, was taken in the 19th round by the Colorado Rockies, who picked him in the 41st round last year as a draft-eligible sophomore. Sardinha's younger brother, Bronson, was the 34th overall selection last year by the New York Yankees and signed a $1 million bonus. Older brother Dane Sardinha was a second-round pick by Cincinnati in 2000. He signed a major league contract in lieu of a bonus.