Japan LLWS standout among 3 new ’Bows

A starting pitcher from Japan’s 2017 Little League World Series championship team, a catcher from Puerto Rico and a closer from New Mexico State are set to join the University of Hawaii baseball team.

Tsubasa Tomii, who was born and reared in Japan ; catcher Enrico “Big Papi ” Carrion, a graduate of the prestigious Puerto Rico Baseball Academy ; and Saul “Big Sexy ” Soto will enroll at UH this fall semester after playing summer ball or training on the continent.

Tomii was the starting and winning pitcher in Japan’s 12-2 victory over Lufkin (Texas ) in the title game of the 2017 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. He pitched a complete game with nine strikeouts.

“It was exciting, ” Tomii told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “It was so awesome.”

Tomii went on to pitch in Japan’s national tournament for junior high schools, and twice in the Koshien, officially known as the Japanese High School Baseball Championship. But it was his experience at Williamsport, he said, that fed his goal “to play again in the United States.”

At a generously listed 5 feet 8, Tomii excelled in two junior college seasons. In 2024, Tomii was 8-1 with a 3.40 earned-run average and 1.17 WHIP for Herkimer College in New York. He averaged 11.48 strikeouts per nine innings.

In 2025, Tomii was 5-1 with a 1.48 ERA and 1.36 WHIP for Pima Community College in Arizona. In conference play, he had 0.95 ERA and 1.32 WHIP while averaging 12.32 strikeouts per nine innings.

“In Japanese high schools, you practice every day, ” Tomii said of his training. A lot of hard work. A lot of lifting and running and eating. I also watched a lot of professional pitchers. I tried every pitch to see how it looks. Finally, I found my pitching form.”

Tomii has a six-pitch menu : four-seam fastball that touches 91 mph, cutter, curveball, slider, changeup and splitter. He abandoned throwing the “ghost pitch ”—New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga’s forkball—because he could not master the grip. Instead his splitter, which has a high spin rate, mirrors the ghost’s effect.

‘Tomii and UH center fielder Matthew Miura are Hyannis teammates in the Cape Cod League this summer.

Carrion, who is 5-11 and 194 pounds, said he moved behind the plate at age 13 “because everyone told me I had a better chance of being a professional baseball player being a catcher.”

Carrion is a recent graduate of the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy &High School in Gurabo, a nonprofit entity that blends academics and intensive athletic training. Former MLB pitcher Edwin Correa founded the program.

While Carrion is noted for his defense—his role model is Yadier Molina—he considers himself a “contact hitter with occasional power.” Through Saturday, he was hitting.308 with an on-base percentage of.444 for the Victoria HarbourCats of the West Coast League this summer.

Soto, who is transferring from New Mexico State, is participating in a pitching-performance program instead of playing summer ball.

Despite pitching in Las Cruces’ 3, 999-foot elevation, Soto was 4-2 with three saves and a 4.79 ERA as a reliever in 2024. In 18 appearances this year, he had five starts. Even at 4-4, he had an uneven season, pitching to a 6.50 ERA.

But the 6-5, 230-pound Soto has a 94 mph fastball with a natural cut, curveball and changeup. He is expected to compete as a late-inning reliever for the’Bows.