ILH BASEBALL: 'Iolani's Donahue commits to Oregon State

Photo courtesy Brien Ing/ScoringLive.com

By Wes Nakama
HHSAA

'Iolani School junior shortstop Christian Donahue has made a verbal commitment to play baseball for Oregon State University starting in 2014-15.

Donahue, a standout on Waipi'o's 2008 Little League World Series Championship, chose the Beavers over Oregon, Arizona State, Pepperdine and Hawai'i.

"With Oregon State, everything felt like it was the best fit for me," said Donahue, who is now 5 feet 10 and 165 pounds. "Everything feels just right."

Donahue batted. 333 in Interscholastic League of Honolulu play last season, with one home run, 11 RBIs, 11 runs scored, five doubles, two triples, five stolen bases in five attempts and a .419 on-base percentage.

Donahue joins Punahou catcher KJ Harrison on Oregon State's highly regarded 2014 recruiting class. Harrison committed in January.

"Every time I saw him, he would ask me if I was ready to commit," Donahue said of Harrison. "He kept telling me how the campus is super nice, how he liked the coaches and how it would be super cool if we could play there together."

Donahue's father, Timo, was a standout at University of Washington and manager of Waipi'o's 2008 LLWS Championship team. He said OSU coach Pat Casey had been in contact with Christian and watched him play in a baseball showcase last month at Hans L'Orange Field.

"It's good baseball," Timo Donahue said about the Pac-12. "(Christian) was just looking at the best fit all-around."