Keston Hiura licks his lips and gets his grip on the bat before his turn at the plate during a game in 2016. (Staff photo by Matt Masin, The Orange County Register/SCNG)

Keston Hiura pumps his arms as he rounds third to score a run during a game in 2016. (Staff photo by Matt Masin, The Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Keston Hiura, right, laughs with UCI coach Mike Gillespie in the dugout during a game in 2016. (Staff photo by Matt Masin, The Orange County Register/SCNG)

UCI’s Keston Hiura led all Division I players in batting this season with a .442 average.

UCI’s Keston Hiura hopes to inspire others. ‘I want people to look up to me and have that belief that they can do it,’ he says.



“Different.”

That’s how UC Irvine coach Mike Gillespie described Keston Hiura, his 5-foot-11, 190-pound DH who won college baseball’s Division I batting title this season with a .442 average.

“The ball comes off different. It’s a louder sound,” Gillespie said. “His line drives, they carry farther than the normal human being.”

Hiura, a junior, could be the highest draft pick in UC Irvine history in Monday’s draft. “Baseball America” projects Hiura as the No. 15 pick with the Astros. The Anteaters have had five players drafted in the second round.

So what’s the secret for the First Team All-American who batted a mind-boggling .482 in Big West Conference play?

Is it the remarkable bat speed he generates? His core strength? His balance? His IQ? Or that he refuses to eat eggs — only egg whites? That he listens only to Marshmello, an electronic dance music producer and DJ, before games?

Or maybe it’s that for most of his life, Hiura chased a pro dream others didn’t think he could catch.

“I didn’t get really frustrated with teams not looking at me or scouts not looking at me,” said Hiura, who went undrafted out of Valencia High in Santa Clarita. “It was more of playing my game, and whatever happens, I’ll let that speak for itself.”

WHO IS THIS KID?

Given Hiura’s stoic expression on the field, you’d never know if he went 5-for-5. He shies away from talking about personal accolades, like leading the nation with a .567 on-base percentage and earning Big West Field Player of the Year.

He looks like a typical college kid, as he buried his nose in his economics book last week after flying back to Orange County from a workout in Kansas City. He has an 8 a.m. final the day after the draft.

“He doesn’t demand attention, but commands attention,” said Oregon coach George Horton, who coached Hiura on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team last summer. With the score tied in the deciding game of a three-game series against Cuba, Hiura hit a winning, pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning.

“I’ve been coaching for 40 years,” Horton said, “and I’ll never forget about that at-bat.”

Hiura has long been a perfectionist. When he was 8, his soccer coach threw him in goal for his first game. A shot whirled past Hiura into the net. The kids didn’t even keep score, but Hiura felt wounded. During his first basketball game he fouled a player, beating himself up for the mistake.

“But baseball,” said his father, Kirk Hiura, “when he struck out, it didn’t really affect him that way.”

Hiura had a calmness about him when he stepped up to the plate, a self-assuredness that came from repetition after repetition with the same hitting coach, Sean Thompson, since age 9.

Few had heard of Hiura before his senior year at Valencia, as he hit just two home runs total prior. As a senior, he blasted a state-leading 14 homers and batted .500, downing two Entenmann’s chocolate donuts before each game.

Suddenly, college coaches wanted to know: Who is this kid? And how good could he be?

“It sounds weird, but he had no luck that year,” said Mike Killinger, his coach at Valencia. “He must have lined out to second base, short stop, center field, 20 more times. He could have easily hit .600.”

Before Hiura left for UCI, his father told him he might have to wait his turn to play. The veteran-heavy Anteaters had just been to the College World Series. “Just give it 100 percent,” Kirk told his son.

“Don’t worry,” Keston said. “I’m confident I can fit into the program.”

Kirk pressed. “I just want to make sure you won’t get discouraged in case it doesn’t go as planned.”

Keston shook his head and broke into a smile. He laughed.

ROLE MODEL

Hiura jumped into the starting lineup as a rookie and was named an All-American and the Big West Freshman Player of the Year. He batted .330, racking up a Big West-leading 52 RBI to go along with 68 hits and six homers.

“It was really important for me to show that I was capable of playing with some of the best players in the area and the country,” Hiura said.

The trend continued as a sophomore, when he hit .358. “Every college coach I’ve talked to has been like, ‘Man, I wish we would have offered Keston,’” Killinger said. “They’re all kicking their butts on that one.”

This past season, he broke UCI’s 46-year-batting record (.442) and had eight homers over 56 games. During a four-game stretch in late May, one against UCLA and three against UC Davis, he batted .737 (14-for-19) with seven RBI. UCI went 3-1.

“I’m speechless when I truly think about it,” said junior infielder Cole Kreuter, his roommate. “I always try and pick his brain, like, ‘How do you do it? How do you hit so good?’ And it’s not that he’s trying to keep his form to himself, he’s just like, ‘I just go out there and hit, man. I don’t know.’”

Hiura’s impact at the next level could extend beyond the box score. Hiura, who is half Chinese and half Japanese, will be one of just a handful of Asian-American players to play professionally.

“That’s something I have noticed, growing up and playing in high school and college,” Hiura said of the scarcity of Asian-Americans in the sport. “I definitely take pride in it. That’s been something that has really inspired me to be the person I am today.”

Hiura grew up playing with his cousins in local Asian-American basketball leagues for the San Fernando Timberwolves. He said that although he didn’t have Asian-American role models to look up to in sports, he felt connected to his culture and community by playing with that team.

“I want people to look up to me and have that belief that they can do it,” Hiura said. “Anything that can light a spark in them to work harder and do better things, it’s definitely something I hope to do.”

One concern scouts have about Hiura is his health. He hasn’t thrown in six months and he’s been playing DH due to an elbow injury. It’s unclear if Hiura will need surgery, but he said he feels “great.”

He isn’t focused on what others are thinking about him. Well, maybe just a little.

“Whenever anyone doubts him,” Kirk said, “he’s out to prove them wrong.”