The Wayne State College baseball team left at 3 a.m. on Tuesday, February 3, to leave for Hawaii, where they will be playing a five-game series after raising around $54,000 in just one night for the trip.
On November 22, 2025, what began as just a concert idea to raise money expanded into so much more. The WSC baseball team held an Aloha Night in the Wildcat Dome to help fundraise for its team’s trip to Hawaii. The athletes greeted the attendees in lay and Hawaiian shirts custom-made for their trip.
There was one guest in particular who really stood out. A former WSC baseball player and current LA Dodgers staff member, Brandon McDaniel. McDaniel is currently Los Angeles’s Development Integration Coach. He attended WSC from 2004 to 2007, where he studied Kinesiology and Exercise Science.
A past athlete who played for Alex Koch around 2014, Tegan Nissen, and his band performed at the event to help draw in alumni and increase the donations. Tegan Nissen has performed at past county fairs and has grown their fan base outside of the local area.
“To be able to have a dinner, a silent auction, and a concert all in one night was definitely pretty cool to see everything come together,” Koch said. “I make our guys go out and do a lot of community service. So, it was really cool to see that night that all the time that they spent in the community helping out, the community really showed up for them.”
The team left Tuesday morning to arrive in Hawaii a few days early to acclimatize to the time change. Within those first few days, after touching down, the team will have practice and focus on team bonding, visiting Pearl Harbor and attending a Luau.
WSC baseball will be playing five games in three days against Hawaii Hilo to start its season. While Wayne, Nebraska will be staying around 40 to 50 degrees the weekend of Saturday, February 7. Hilo, Hawaii, will be staying within the 70 degree realm.
“I keep telling our guys this, and anyone I talk to, that our strength has to be on the mound, and it’s really going to challenge us five games in three days,” Koch said. “This will be a good challenge for us right away, kind of see where we match up and how we compete on the mound.”
WSC baseball will be heading home after its last game on Sunday, February 8, before heading to Missouri S&T for a six-game series which starts on February 15. To watch the WSC baseball team in Hawaii, the game can be found on PacWest Network.
