University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa football placekicker Kansei Matsuzawa became the program’s first consensus All-American after being named to three of the NCAA’s five official All-America teams.
The Japan native was named to the first team by the Walter Camp Foundation, Associated Press (AP) and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). He was a second team selection by The Sporting News and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).
No other UH Mānoa football player was named to more than one of the official All-America selector teams. Offensive lineman Hercules Satele was UH Mānoa’s last first-team honoree by the FWAA in 2007. Among UH’s other honorees by the NCAA’s selector teams include placekicker Jason Elam (1992 Kodak-AFCA) and defensive lineman Al Noga (1986 AP).
Thus far, Matsuzawa has been named to 12 All-America teams including to the first team by five selectors—AFCA, AP, CBS Sports, Walter Camp and Pro Football & Sports Network. He was named to the second team by seven others—FWAA, The Sporting News, The Athletic, Sports Illustrated, Sports Info Solutions, USA Today and On3.
In addition, Matsuzawa was one of three finalists for the Lou Groza Award, given to the nation’s top placekicker and was selected as the Mountain West’s Special Teams Player of the Year. He was also presented a proclamation by Honolulu City and County Mayor Rick Blangiardi—a former UH player and coach—who proclaimed December 18, 2025, “Kansei Matsuzawa Day.”
Nicknamed the “Tokyo Toe,” Matsuzawa’s story has become one of the most compelling in college football. A native of Ichikawa, Japan, he grew up playing soccer and didn’t attempt his first kick until age 20 after attending an NFL game in Los Angeles. He taught himself how to kick by studying YouTube videos and eventually earned a spot at Hocking College in Ohio. After two seasons there, he joined the Rainbow Warriors as a walk-on in 2023.
