Dudoit leaving record-setting legacy | News, Sports, Jobs

Haloa Dudoit raises his helmet after registering his 250th hit with Concordia University Irvine — breaking the school’s all-time record for hits — in the sixth inning of the Eagles’ 4-0 win over Academy of Art on Friday. Dudoit, a 2016 graduate of Baldwin High School, already held school records for CUI in career starts (203), assists (557) and at-bats (774). CUI Athletics / Cayden Jones photos

Haloa Dudoit will likely play more baseball after this week, but the legacy he will leave behind at Concordia University Irvine will not be soon forgotten.

Dudoit smacked a chopper up the middle in the sixth inning of a 4-0 win over Academy of Art on Friday for a single — it was the 250th hit of his career with the Eagles and broke the school record perviously held by Kyle Konicek.

“I mean, it felt good,” Dudoit said via phone on Monday. “I really didn’t know I was in the running for that until they made a post about me and my roommate (Bailey Collins), who is either first or second in a bunch of the records as well. He’s about to break the home run record soon.

“They posted it and we were, like, wow, we never really thought about it until they posted it and we never knew we were that close. So, after that it was kind of stuck in the back of our minds.”

Dudoit, a 2016 Baldwin High School graduate and state champion, already held school records for CUI in career starts (203), assists (557) and at-bats (774).

Concordia Irvine’s Haloa Dudoit is pictured during his record-setting at-bat Friday

Collins has 33 career homers and is two behind the school record held by Derek Patterson.

“We kind of gave each other crap for that, saying ‘OK, you’re going to break the home run record’ — he puts it in my head, I put it in his head,” Dudoit said. “But, yeah, that’s cool. It wasn’t really a goal per se — I really didn’t think about it much. I just thought about the success of the team and just trying to stay consistent and do what I can do for the team.

“That came with breaking the record, so that was cool. It’s a cool accomplishment to look back in life and say, ‘Hey, yeah, I was able to stay consistent over the years and stay healthy,’ which played a big part in it.”

CUI head coach Joe Turgeon got a call from his former Cal State Fullerton teammate Kurt Suzuki, a 15-year major league catcher and Baldwin graduate, in 2016 recommending Dudoit for his program.

Dudoit has started every game of his career since — he returned this season as a graduate student after his senior year was halted by COVID-19 last year.

At 18-14 with four games left in the regular season this week, Turgeon is not counting out the possibility of qualifying for the NCAA Division II tournament. It would be the first postseason appearance in Dudoit’s career.

Turgeon was touched when he saw Dudoit break the hits record.

“I was here for the player that held the record, Kyle Konicek, for all of his four years as well and to see Haloa do it, I was proud to be a part off that,” Turgeon said. “To know who he is as a man and the family that he’s come from and the high school that he’s come from, his journey here to Concordia with our relationship with Kurt.

“It’s really cool to see him at the top and to know how great of a young man he is and be as consistent a player as he’s been, to play every single game at one of the most demanding defensive positions in shortstop. It’s been a pleasure to watch him — it brought a small tear to my eye.”

Dudoit already holds a bachelor’s degree in sports management and is now one online semester away from a master’s degree in coaching and athletic administration.

“It’s kind of coming down to a time where I really need to think about what I want to do after college and after the playing career,” Dudoit said. “I’m not against it (coaching), I would love to stay around the game some way, somehow, whether that’s facilities because that’s something I’m interested in or coaching at the high school or college level.

“I haven’t really thought too much about it, but it could be an option. I would not be against coaching.”

Dudoit admits he thinks about following in his father Shane Dudoit’s footsteps — Shane Dudoit coached St. Anthony to a Division II state final and Baldwin to the 2018 D-I state crown and is currently a scout for the Texas Rangers organization.

“I’ve talked to him about it,” Haloa Dudoit said. “He always jokes around about being a coach and following in his footsteps. It would be something that I’m interested in for sure.”

Haloa Dudoit is hopeful to hear his name called in the MLB draft in June, but if not he has other options, including playing professionally in Australia or in a domestic independent league.

“I would love to play more baseball,” Dudoit said. “As long as the opportunity is there for me, I think it would be hard for me to shun it away because it’s been such a big part of my life for so long. So, if the opportunity is there I definitely would probably keep playing.

“I know it won’t last forever, so whether it ends this year or it ends in the next 10 years I will keep trying my best, but sometimes reality sets in and at some point I will have to find a big boy job.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

Haloa Dudoit raises his helmet after registering his 250th hit with Concordia University Irvine — breaking the school’s all-time record for hits — in the sixth inning of the Eagles’ 4-0 win over Academy of Art on Friday. Dudoit, a 2016 graduate of Baldwin High School, already held school records for CUI in career starts (203), assists (557) and at-bats (774). CUI Athletics / Cayden Jones photos Concordia Irvine’s Haloa Dudoit is pictured during his record-setting at-bat Friday

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7rq3UoqWer6NjsLC5jqynqKqkqHytu8Kao2aroKS%2Ftb%2BOa2draV9lgnCw1J2moqxdobKiwsinnmaqlZi8s7CMrJytrJmjtG64xKCYnLFf