University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo assistant coach and former standout player Aisha Sueda has been named Vulcan softball head coach. Sueda becomes the seventh head coach in the program’s history, replacing the retired Callen Perreira, who left the program after 25 years.
“I am happy to announce Aisha Sueda as the head coach,” said UH Hilo Athletic Director Patrick Guillen. “Coach Aisha has earned this opportunity. She has been instrumental in the success of our program as an assistant coach for the past five years and understands what it takes to be successful. From a player’s perspective, she brings strong credentials as a former four-year standout player and First Team All-PacWest Conference selection as a Vulcan.”
The Hilo native first served as a volunteer assistant coach after graduating in 2012 and then as an assistant coach in 2018. She played for the Vulcans from 2009 to 2012 as a four-year starter at second base, earning First Team All-PacWest Conference honors as a senior.
“This is a dream come true, to be given the opportunity to do something that I love from the school I graduated from in my hometown,” Sueda said. “I know that I have big shoes to fill following Coach Callen’s legacy. I know that it will be a lot of work both on and off the field, but I feel confident moving into this position with the support of my coaching staff, the athletic staff and the entire Hilo community.”
Sueda has been part of a program that never had a losing season—in 34 years of UH Hilo softball the program has had 32 winning seasons. Her task will be to keep the program moving forward, despite losing seven players to graduation from a squad that went 19-13 and won two games at the NCAA Division II West Regional tournament in 2021.
“We lost a lot of key players and we will be looking to fill those spots,” Sueda said. “We’ve got a lot of new players coming in and I am excited to see what they will bring to the program. I will always be looking for hard working student-athletes with good fundamentals and will want to continue to bring in more local talent. We have had a lot of Big Island kids and players from Oʻahu come through this program, and that is something that I would like to continue to grow.”
