Welcome home, Paul Regrutto.
As expected, UH-Hilo brought back its first men’s soccer coach to reclaim the program from Gene Okamura, who served as the head coach of both Vulcans programs the past two seasons.
While Okamura will continue as the women’s coach, the 40-year-old Regrutto is the interim head of a men’s program he first led in 2006.
“Hilo has always had a hold on me,” Regrutto, who lives in Volcano, said in school release. “I enjoy the people and obviously the beauty of the area. This is a great place to raise a family. I am excited for the opportunity to come back and build this program.”
He wasn’t on the bench last season, most recently coaching Colorado State University-Pueblo, his alma mater, during a four-year stint that ended in 2016 when Regrutto was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Coach of the Year for leading the Thunderwolves to the school’s first NCAA tournament berth in women’s soccer.
The designations for Regrutto and Okamura end UHH’s five-year run of having a director of soccer oversee both programs.
Lance Thompson held the post from 2013-15, and Okamura held the title on an interim basis the last two seasons.
Historically, the women’s program has been more competitive. The UHH men finished 2-14 last season, while the women went 7-9-1.
“This is a great opportunity to rebuild this program,” Regrutto said in the release. “I have been a coach for 16 years and I know what it takes to improve the culture. This will help both the men’s and women’s programs. Gene has done a great job but that is a huge task to run two teams at once. I appreciate the ground work he has done to help get us going in the right direction.”
The announcement was expected.
A UHH spokesperson confirmed last week that the school had tentatively reached an agreement with Regrutto, but stressed that hire wasn’t a done deal yet.
Athletic director Pat Guillen made it official Monday, lauding Regrutto for his “energy and a history of success to our men’s program.”
In 2006, Regrutto was the Vuls inaugural head coach, with Gordon Inouye serving as the director of operations for the start-up men’s and women’s programs. That season, the Vulcans finished 5-9-1, a win total they haven’t achieved since 2014.
According to the release, Regrutto will retain longtime assistant coach Terry Yamane.
