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Haloa Dudoit feeling right at home: Baseball in Boise

By Robert Collias 6 min read

Haloa Dudoit was on to the next step in his lifelong baseball journey -- coaching -- when a call came that put him back on the playing path.

Dudoit, a Baldwin High School graduate and state champion in 2016, was a graduate assistant coach for his alma mater, Concordia University Irvine, last fall when he received the call from the Boise Hawks.

"It's really cool, it was an opportunity that came up at the perfect time  -- it's kind of one that I couldn't let go, so I jumped on the opportunity," Dudoit said via phone Wednesday before the Hawks' home game against the Ogden Raptors. "It's a different world of baseball, different competitive level, all of that, something I'm still trying to get used to. I'm enjoying it, it's a grind for sure, but it's a good time."

The Hawks are part of the Pioneer League that is an MLB Partner League -- not affiliated, but closely linked to affiliated baseball. 

"After last year, my college career, my name was just kind of floating around in the Pioneer League and I kind of committed to coaching towards the ending of last year's independent ball season," Dudoit said. "I started coaching, everything was good, and then a couple weeks into coaching I actually got this call, just a random call." 

The call came in September 2021 when the Eagles were busy with fall ball.

"They said, 'Hey, there's a spot open. You want it? You gotta be ready to go,' and I kind of just said, 'Yes,' and prepared while I was coaching at the college, finishing my master's," Dudoit said.

Dudoit, the all-time hits leader for CUI, took the chance and ran with it. He recently finished his master's degree, in coaching. 

"Concordia did a good job of helping me get ready. I had all the access to the facilities to get my body in shape and get my mind in shape," Dudoit said. "Once we finished, I drove out to Boise to be with the guys. I got to Boise on May 13 -- that's when we started minicamp, two weeks, kind of like a spring training for a couple weeks and we started games on May 26."

The Hawks are off to a 2-4 start and Dudoit is hitting 3 for 17 (.176) after starting at second base in five of those games.

"I'm slowly getting back into it, I didn't really see a live pitch until that first week of spring training and then an actual game setting until that first game, but it's slowly coming back," Dudoit said. "Good thing, it's the beginning of the season, but I feel like mentally I'm there; physically it'll get there in the next couple days, hopefully."

Dudoit's MLB draft chances were basically sunk due to COVID -- the draft was reduced from 40 rounds to just five in 2020 due to the pandemic, and it was only restored to 20 rounds in 2021. 

Now, he has another baseball life, his first shot at the professional game.

"That's the goal, I mean, try to get to affiliated out of here," Dudoit said. "The first goal is to start winning some games right now and then kind of get my numbers up and try to sign to an affiliated team and then work my way up from there.

"For me, it's just playing as long as I can until I can't play anymore. Just because you never know the opportunities and the potential of getting somewhere if you don't try. So, for me, it's just rolling with it until you can't roll no more -- until they rip the uniform off my back."

Baseball is a family affair for the Dudoits. 

Dad Shane Dudoit was a standout at Molokai High School, was an assistant to Jon Viela on the Baldwin 2016 state champs, was the head coach for the Baldwin 2018 state champs, and is now a professional scout for the Texas Rangers organization.

Younger brothers Haku and Halii play the game--Haku is at Fullerton Junior College and Halii is a rising junior at Kamehameha Maui.

All the Dudoits except Haloa are currently in Las Vegas, where oldest daughter Kailee is set to give Shane and Jovi Dudoit their first grandchild, at any moment.

Growing up on Maui has been special, something that Haloa Dudoit is not about to forget.

"All the support that I've been getting and I knew that there was a great support system, but especially coming from Maui and all the people that support me from back home, even if I'm however many miles away," he said. "It's really cool."

In Dudoit's heart, Wailuku is still home.

"It's really something I think about, basically before every game, you know, is that I can represent my state and that last star on the flag," he said. "I always think about that and just try to perform for the people that continuously have supported me all the way through my upbringing and through high school and college and all of that."

Haloa and Shane Dudoit talk about baseball nearly every day.

"It's really cool, and I mean not so much piggybacking off of him, but being able to talk to him about games, and more so now, because it's professional baseball, there's a lot more struggles and I'm not seeing as much success as I did in college," Haloa Dudoit said. "I've called him basically every day and talked to him--it's kind of comforting to see his side of it, an outsider's side of it, trying to direct me in the right way. 

"Him telling me to kind of just stick through it and it'll come back. It's just a reassuring thing that helps me a lot with my confidence and all of that."

While the Dudoits await the new arrival in Las Vegas--waiting to be surprised by a boy or girl--the household has been watching Hawks games on the team's streaming channel.

Brotherly love springs up quickly in the after-game family discussions.

"My brother (Haku) is kind of giving me crap and talking about the wood bats that I've broke and all of that," Haloa said with laugh. "Same old, same old, basically."

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

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