The Hawai'i Collegiate Baseball League will open its second season Thursday with two new teams, increasing membership to six teams.

The Waimea Waves and Kaua'i Menehunes join the original league members, the Hawai'i Aliis, Waikiki Surfers, Kamuela Paniolos and O'ahu Paddlers. In all, some 162 collegiate players and some out of high school will be playing their games at Aloha Stadium for the second consecutive summer.

Players come from primarily the Pac-10, West Coast Conference and Western Athletic Conference. There also are a number of players who played high school ball in Hawai'i. Also playing are some Hawai'i Rainbows and their incoming recruits, as well as some from UH-Hilo. Current Rainbows scheduled to play are shortstops Eli Christensen and Nathan Young, first baseman Kris Sanchez and pitcher Myles Ioane.

Recent high school graduates playing are Kamehameha's Stuart Kam, a catcher, and Ed Dun, a first baseman, as well as Kamehameha-Hawai'i pitcher Aaron Correa and 'Aiea third baseman Derek Grace.

San Diego's All-WCC second baseman Keoni Ruth, a 2003 graduate of Kamehameha, is on the Surfers' roster, but was just drafted by the Chicago Cubs in this week's baseball draft.

All of the league's games will be played at Aloha Stadium with tripleheaders daily, except for most Mondays, with game times set for 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. There will be an all-star game on July 4. The league will play a 35-game schedule with a four-day, double-elimination tournament to determine the champion. The league runs Thursday through July 29.

Since the league is still in its infancy, it will not seek NCAA certification until next year, league president Al Kam said.

"We want to get in two years," he said. "We asked to hold off until next year."

Last year, the players were housed in dormitories at UH. This year, they will be staying in apartments near UH.

There is no admission charge for the games, Kam said.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.