Cowell coming home: King Kekaulike grad set to transfer to UH
Things have changed with rocket speed for Chandler Cowell in the last week.
It has worked out well for the University of Hawaii indoor and beach volleyball teams — Cowell confirmed to The Maui News on Friday that she is transfering to UH to play for each program.
The King Kekaulike High School graduate is set to graduate from Saint Mary’s (Calif.) in May with a bachelor’s degree in communication with a minor in Spanish.
After her planned graduate major at Saint Mary’s got “kind of iffy” according to Cowell, she entered the NCAA transfer portal on March 4 to explore her options.
Five days later, she committed to UH as a graduate transfer walk-on — she has two seasons of indoor eligibility and one season left on the sand and plans to use them all in Manoa.
“So basically my plan was always to stay a fifth year at Saint Mary’s and get my grad there and then two weeks ago I had a couple grad conversations at Saint Mary’s — the program I was expected to go into was kind of iffy and then they didn’t have any concrete answers for me,” Cowell said Friday via phone. “That was kind of nerve-racking, so I decided that I needed to take that next step of entering the transfer portal and just at least have the opportunity to talk to other schools about potential grad programs.”
Cowell added, “I entered the portal on Friday and I immediately had a bunch of great colleges reaching out and I felt very blessed. I actually sent an email to the University of Hawaii and just explained the situation. I had a call with them on Tuesday and after that it was pretty much a done deal.”
After committing to UH on Wednesday, she waited two days before telling friends and posting the news on social media on Friday.
“You know, University of Hawaii, there’s just that pull that makes me want to come home, play for a great program,” Cowell said. “The coaching staff was amazing, I loved the phone calls with them. I mean, it’s an easy sell to come home. I’m so grateful to play and have that opportunity to play for that great team.”
She plans to earn her master’s in communication with an emphasis in broadcasting and journalism in Manoa.
Cowell is currently playing the beach season for Saint Mary’s, but she is on good terms with the school as she moves on.
“It worked out really well — there’s a lot of moving parts, but overall I think everything is working in the direction I really want it to and I’m looking forward to embracing these new opportunities ahead of me,” Cowell said. “I feel really lucky, my coaching staff at Saint Mary’s is extremely helpful. They care about me first and foremost as a person, so when the grad component kind of was up in the air, they 100 percent supported me looking into other programs.
“They prioritize school and that’s one of the reasons I love Saint Mary’s. You’re a student first and then an athlete and they care about you as a person. … My coaching staff and my teammates, they’ve been super great with this transition.”
Of course, there are several things pulling Cowell to Manoa, including her brother, Colton Cowell, a fellow King Kekaulike grad who spent six seasons with the UH men.
After starting as a little-used walk-on in 2016, Colton Cowell finished in 2021 as an NCAA champion — he was also a second-team AVCA AllAmerican for the final two years of his UH career.
“Colton has definitely been in my ear this entire time with this process,” Chandler Cowell said. “I think he was trying to stay neutral — he definitely did not do that. He was all for me coming to UH. He was actually one of the biggest reasons I did, he’s been a really big help for me. My whole family, they tried to be neutral, but they wanted me to come. My mom (Christina Cowell) was, like, ‘I already have enough green. I can’t get a new color.’ ”
Chandler Cowell noted that she spoke with the UH indoor program first because she has two seasons of eligibility left — she redshirted as a freshman in 2018 and has another year due to COVID-19 rules.
“Initially I talked to the (UH) indoor program, but I also immediately indicated my interest in playing for the SandBows as well, so I will have the opportunity to play both the beach and indoor teams at the University of Hawaii,” she said. “They actually have money for a middle, which I am not, so I’m actually going to be a walk-on which I think is really exciting — it’s kind of similar to Colton’s story in that way.
“I hope to use all of the eligibility I have left.”
She led the 15-12 Gaels in kills with 219 in the 2021 indoor season and currently has a career beach record of 40-24, including 4-4 while playing at No. 2 this season.
“Ultimately, I made this decision not off of money — I had scholarship offers from some other places, but I really felt this pull, that this was the right decision for me,” Chandler Cowell said. “So, I’m proud of myself that I didn’t make it about money. I made it about my volleyball career and my academic career. Maybe I will earn one (scholarship), hopefully I will, but for right now I’m just a walk-on, which is pretty exciting for me, too.”
Colton Cowell recently finished his first professional volleyball season in India and is back on Oahu preparing for his next season, which has yet to be determined. If he is still in town when his little sister takes the tera-flex at the Stan Sheriff Center, it will be a Cowell family moment.
“I can’t even put it into words,” Chandler Cowell said. “I feel like it’s going to be this surreal moment. I think it’s going to be very full circle for me. I’m very grateful for my time at Saint Mary’s, but I feel like this is exactly what I needed to end my collegiate career.
“I just can’t wait to be in the Stan Sheriff, working, hearing the crowd. I don’t know, just wearing that rainbow across my chest, hopefully representing the state well. I’m looking forward to it, I’m almost speechless. I just smile when I think about it.”