Kansei Matsuzawa and Micah Alejado turned a strong season into serious hardware today, with Matsuzawa taking home the Mountain West's top specialist honor and Alejado voted the conference Freshman of the Year. The awards capped a breakthrough 8-4 regular season for the Rainbow Warriors, who landed multiple players on All-Mountain West teams and saw Matsuzawa earn national recognition as a Lou Groza finalist while Alejado and others rewrote the school record book.
Mountain West hands out postseason honorsa
The Mountain West released its end-of-season awards on Tuesday, and coaches and media made it clear they noticed Hawaii's surge. Redshirt freshman quarterback Micah Alejado was selected Freshman of the Year and kicker Kansei Matsuzawa was named Special Teams Player of the Year in the All-Conference voting, as reported by Sports Illustrated.
Matsuzawa's national profile grows
Matsuzawa, known as the "Tokyo Toe," also earned a spot as one of three finalists for the Lou Groza Award. Hawaii Athletics notes that he set school kicking records this season, landed on multiple midseason All-America lists and ranks among FBS leaders in scoring, accomplishments that helped push him into the national finalist conversation. The Lou Groza winner is scheduled to be announced during the Home Depot College Football Awards show on Dec. 12.
Streak ended in a bittersweet finale
In the regular-season finale against Wyoming, Matsuzawa tied an FBS mark by drilling 25 consecutive field goals to start a season before a 30-yard attempt sailed wide late in the game, a twist described as emotional by local coverage. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser detailed the night, including the crowd's reaction as the streak ended.
Alejado's breakout freshman year
Redshirt freshman Micah Alejado capped his first full season under center by being named Mountain West Freshman of the Year after setting a University of Hawaii freshman single-season record with 21 touchdown passes. The university's release notes that Alejado also stacked up multiple weekly freshman awards during the year and helped guide Hawai‘i to its best regular-season finish since 2019, putting the program in position for postseason play, according to Hawaii Athletics.
Other Warriors recognized
Hawai‘i landed three players on the All-Mountain West first team: Matsuzawa, Jackson Harris and Jackie Johnson. Pofele Ashlock, Cam Barfield and De'jon Benton were also honored with second-team or honorable-mention spots. Among the special teams highlights that helped fuel the postseason buzz was Barfield's 86-yard kickoff return against San Diego State and his strong kickoff-return average in league play, as highlighted by the Star-Advertiser.
What comes next
Matsuzawa will have to wait to learn whether his season ends with the Lou Groza trophy when the national awards are handed out on Dec. 12, while the Rainbow Warriors look toward an expected bowl bid as the postseason picture settles. The conference's end-of-season announcements and the national finalist lists set the immediate calendar for Hawai‘i's award winners and departing seniors, according to the Mountain West Conference.
