Mercer shortstop Titan Kamaka ‘26 is known for his work at the plate.
He has been named Southern Conference Player of the Week this week and was placed on Baseball America’s College Team of the Week this season. He sits among the nation’s top 50 shortstops, according to the College Baseball Hall of Fame, and leads the SoCon in batting average, smashing .424 through 41 games.
The life of a college athlete, especially one as accomplished as Kamaka, can be demanding, but he said he has learned to balance his mental game by spending time with another plate: the dinner plate.
This year and the last, Kamaka has taken up cooking as a form of stress relief in his college years. He said his mom was a good cook growing up and tried to convince him to learn before he got to college, but largely to no avail.
Only after moving to college, he decided to try out cooking for himself. Now, not only does he find cooking relaxing, but he said it is also satisfying and gratifying, taking the stress away from his busy schedule.
"I just like started to play with it. I did everything. I do fried chicken. I made my own carne asada and I would make breakfast food all the time, and I really got into it. It was super relaxing and I kind of like to know what I'm eating when I'm making it," he said.
Cooking for him provides a much needed relaxation process, but he admits that it is more relaxing when he makes something that tastes good.
“I think my best thing that I’ve ever made was a beef stroganoff sandwich that I kind of created on my own,” he said.
During his freshman year at Florida State University, Kamaka said he was almost consumed by baseball and made no time for anything else, but he has learned to balance baseball with other hobbies. This year, his second at Mercer, his mental process is different.
"I know I have to lock in, but I think lock in looks a little different [this year]. I'm not pressing or stressing," he said. "If it results bad, I'm not frustrated. I'm just thinking, 'Hey, what can I do to improve on this? And then how can I help?'"
He said he was inspired in this change partly after rooming with Bradley Frye '25, a fellow shortstop and current member of the San Diego Padres minor league system. Kamaka said he served as a good example of someone who is a focused but relaxed athlete.
"I kind of just like watched him and how he approached life. He kind of held everything loosely. If something wasn't great, he was fine with it, and he had his own hobbies and he was really passionate about that. And I took a liking to that because he was super successful last year," he said.
"I think a lot more of my mental state is not results oriented. I'm more of 'What's the process look like?' If I'm relaxed and I'm going to an at-bat or make a play and I'm like, okay, that feels right, then we're good to go," he said. "So the more I can slow everything down, the better."
Kamaka said he discovered his current roommate, Jeb Johnson '26, had an interest in cooking as well, and sometime acts as "his sous chef" when making dishes.
"I kind of just set everything up. I do all the sides, our carbs and stuff. But I know I love to cook. I think it's great. I think it's a great life skill to have, is to be able to cook," Kamaka said.
In addition to cooking, he added he enjoys painting and other creative endeavors.
Kamaka said he likes painting because it is relaxing and mindless. He sits down by himself, turns on classical music and lets "my brain and my hand just take over.” In middle school, he would paint and sell shoes, and later he worked on creating landscapes. Now, he has gotten into characters, which he said stems from his interest in anime.
“What they do and what they can bring to life is pretty unbelievable,” he said.
Kamaka said he loves his teammates and the campus. He knows he made the right decision to transfer to Mercer where he has finished off his junior and senior seasons.
“This is probably one of my favorite groups of guys, and I’m really excited to be playing with them."
This season is the first in which Kamaka has decided to take more of a relaxed approach to preparing for games. Listening to music, stretching and trying to find his happy place are a few of his new go-to’s, he said. And before bed, he said, he tries to take at least half an hour to do something for himself to clear his brain so he can better attack the next day.
“This is my last year, so I’m just telling myself, ‘Enjoy it, go have fun.’ This is my last ride, so might as well attack something differently," he said.
