Case Announces Nominations To Nation's Service Academies For Incoming '26 Class

(Honolulu, HI) - U.S. Representative Ed Case (HI-01) today announced his 2026 nominations to four of our nation’s service academies: the U.S. Military Academy (West Point/Army); U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis/Navy); U.S. Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs/Air Force) and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point). “I take my responsibility to nominate deserving applicants from my district to our legendary service academies very seriously and personally interviewed most of my applicants before making my decisions,” said Case. “I was truly impressed with the applicants, and it was very encouraging and rewarding to have spent time with our next generation of military leaders.” Case named the following nominees to the four service academies (principal nominee and the rest in alphabetical order by last name): United States Air Force Academy Principal nominee: Ryder Goto      Kalani High School Kasyn Amazaki                              ‘Iolani School Luke Barner                                    Radford High School Kodai Eskin                                     Punahou School John Ganske                                    New Mexico Military Institute/ Moanalua High School Timothy Iha                                     Pearl City High School Tuan Pettaway                                 Air Force Academy Preparatory School/ Mililani High School Christophe Tang                              Air Force Academy Preparatory School/ Campbell High School Derrick Ung                                    ‘Aiea High School United States Military Academy Principal nominee: Anthony Dang  University Laboratory School Jacob Blaze Cabuhat                      Punahou School Liam Martin                                   Punahou School Jazmine Mayo                               ‘Aiea High School Malia McCoy                                 Punahou School Hayden Noland                               Punahou School Parker Noland                                 Punahou School ChristopherJay Tenorio                  ‘Aiea High School United States Naval Academy Principal nominee: Alicya Robson  Naval Academy Preparatory School/ Campbell High School Liliana Burrell                                  Abeka Academy (home school) Juliet Caston                                    Campbell High School Adam Ettlich                                   Soli Deo Gloria Academy (home school) Shota Eskin                                     Punahou School Vanessa He                                      Hawaii Baptist Academy Lyla Matthews                                 Radford High School Charlotte Nakagawa                        Kamehameha Schools - Kapālama Caleb Parsons                                  Moanalua High School Ezekiel Schulz                                 Radford High School Jia Qi Zhan                                      Naval Academy Preparatory School/ Roosevelt High School United States Merchant Marine Academy Elizabeth Gillaspie                          Maryknoll School Parker Reppun                                 Punahou School For the Class of 2026, Case selected 30 applicants from six private schools, eight public schools and two home schools. Members of Congress are authorized by law to nominate candidates to four United States Service Academies: the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland; the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado; the Military Academy at West Point, New York; and the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York. The Coast Guard Academy at New London, Connecticut does not require a congressional nomination for appointment. A Congressional nomination does not guarantee acceptance, but in most cases is required for an applicant to be considered. Acceptance of an academy appointment requires at least a nine-year service obligation, including four years at an academy and at least five years of active duty service. For information on eligibility requirements and how to seek an appointment for the 2027 entering class, please go to Rep. Case’s web site https://case.house.gov/services/service-academy-nominations.htm . ###