Former University of Hawai’i at Hilo baseball player Casey Yamauchi signed a free-agent deal with the Oakland Athletics organization Wednesday afternoon.
The former Vulcans shortstop went undrafted in this week’s Major League Baseball draft and had recently joined the MLB Draft League as a member of the Frederick Keys (Maryland) roster.
“The last few days during the draft, I was telling myself this is what I dreamed of since I was a little kid. This is everything I worked for, everything I wished for,” Yamauchi said.
“To get the call today is even more sweet because I thought I was going to have to grind it out out here to even get another opportunity.”
Yamauchi is the first MLB Draft League player this season to have his contract purchased by a Major League club and the fifth since the Draft League implemented a professional, second-half format in 2022.
The Waiakea High School alumnus is the third Hilo-raised baseball player this week to join an MLB organization, alongside Maui Ahuna and Devin Saltiban.
The Keys are on the road in northeast Ohio, and as Yamauchi was prepping for Thursday’s game against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, he received the call.
The Hilo native wrapped up a five-year career with the Vulcans and graduated this past spring with bachelor degrees in communication and kinesiology &exercise sciences.
Yamauchi was named to the 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Third Team after setting career program records in runs (147), hits (240), doubles (49) and steals (74).
He was also named UH-Hilo’s 2022-23 Male Athlete of the Year, and was a 2023 All-Pacwest Second Team selection.
The Oakland Athletics have started the process of applying to the MLB for a move to Las Vegas.