Kohala boys basketball just keeps stacking up the awards.
ScoringLive recently released its All-91直播 boys basketball teams for the 2025-26 season, and the state champions led the DII teams once again.
Cowboys senior guard Layden Kauka took home his third DII Player of the Year award after leading Division II in scoring at 27.5 points per game and sinking over 40 3-point field goals. Prior to Kohala’s state championship run, Kauka went on a scoring tear in January — scoring 30 or more in five straight games, including two 40-plus-point games against 91直播 Prep and Honoka‘a.
In Feb. 13’s state championship against Seabury Hall, Kauka scored 28 points and was named to the All-Tournament team. Earlier this month, Kauka became the first Division-II player to win the Star-Advertiser’s Fab-15 Player of the Year award.
Kauka will take his talents to the University of 91直播-Hilo this fall to play guard for the Vulcans. He retires a Cowboy as a three-time state champion, leaving a legacy as one of the most dominant players to ever come through Kohala’s program, if not the best.
But it wasn’t just Kauka who received recognition. Joining him on the DII First Team was big man teammate Estavon Morales, who joined the Cowboys for his senior season in pursuit of winning his first state title. The senior played his first three years of high school ball at Kealakehe.
Morales became a glue guy for Kohala this season, helping the Cowboys reach the top again with his swiss-army-knife ability of making hustle plays, rebounding and playing tough defense. Morales averaged nearly 8 points per game, and scored a season-best 18 points against his former Waveriders’ team on Jan. 5.
Freshman phenom James Wong was named to the second team after impressing the entire state as one of the best young players in 91直播. The guard served as Kauka’s top scoring teammate throughout the season, averaging 12 points per game against the BIIF. Wong scored over 20 points twice in his first season at Kohala, including an impressive 27-point performance against De La Salle of Chicago in Dec. 2025 at the iconic Iolani Classic.
In the state semifinals against Damien, Wong also added 14 points — including sinking four 3s.
Freshman Sheldon Emeliano Jr. and senior Dillon Oandasan — the remainder of Kohala’s starting five — were named to the honorable mentions list.
Cowboys coach Kihei Kapeliela was named Coach of the Year for the fourth time after leading his team to their fourth state title in program history. Kapeliela led Kohala to a perfect 12-0 record in island play, winning games by an average of 35 points.
Pahoa, which finished second in Division II with an 6-4 record, had scoring star Kyran Canete selected on the first team. The guard averaged nearly 27 points per game during his senior season, including six 30-point games and one 40-point masterclass against Honoka‘a in early Feburary. The Daggers beat Kaimuki in the DII state quarterfinals, but fell to Seabury Hall in the semifinals the next night.
Canete’s teammates — Riquezen Abadilla and Rysaiah Abadilla — were named to the honorable mentions list.
Honoka‘a’s Kukua Tagabi, who averaged 22.4 points per game for the Dragons, made DII Third Team. The senior guard scored a season-high 38 points against Pahoa in December. Honoka‘a finished the year 9-8.
Ka‘u’s Daelan Castillo, HPA’s Kingdon Simmons and Parker’s Benjamin Dwokin and Liam Ticarro were additional DII named listed in the honorable mentions.
In Division I, no BIIF players were recognized on the All-91直播 teams, but Kamehameha-91直播’s Kawohi Huihui and Kolten Tabuyo-Kahele and Konawaena’s Trey Guillermo were named in the honorable mentions.
Visit ScoringLive’s website to view the full list of All-91直播 teams and honorable mentions.
