New Mexico State’s backcourt has already given Gonzaga a reason to pay close attention, and DJ Dudley is the name at the center of it.
The 6-foot-3 guard arrives in Spokane with a résumé that made him hard to miss on the scouting report. Before New Mexico State ever landed him, coach Jason Hooten had already studied Dudley closely ahead of the Aggies’ trip to Louisiana Tech last season on Feb.
- Hooten watched film from Dudley’s previous four games and saw a stretch that jumped off the page: 25 points against Jacksonville State, 20 against Kennesaw State, 20 against UTEP and 21 against Sam Houston State.
That run pushed Dudley to the top of New Mexico State’s list, and maybe close to the top of Hooten’s offseason priorities too. A few months later, Dudley entered the transfer portal and committed to the Aggies on April 23, giving Hooten a proven scorer and an experienced piece for a rebuilt backcourt.
Now Dudley is the one other teams are circling. He’ll be a focal point for No. 15 Gonzaga as it finalizes its plan for Saturday’s 2 p.m. home opener against New Mexico State at McCarthey Athletic Center.
“We took him because he was an all-conference guy who averaged 15 (points), helped his team go to the conference championship game,” Hooten said during a phone interview earlier this week. “He’s got that experience, he’s kind of been there and done that. Just really my biggest thing with him is taking that next step and having that level of consistency to where you can depend on him to be a guy you can ride a little bit.”
Dudley’s production backs that up. He was an All-Conference USA First Team selection in 2025-26 and was also named to the 10-player Preseason All-Conference USA Team released last month.
Last season, he averaged 13.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 43.1% from the field and 36.2% from 3-point range on 4.8 attempts per game. In league play, he bumped that scoring average to 14.8 points and hit the 20-point mark seven times.
“Definitely a shot maker, a guy that can play one on one and get a basket maybe when you need one,” Hooten said. “Trying to get him better and every coach is different.
You play for a different coach, different style, different expectations. So he’s trying to learn those things.
Good player and we’re going to have to have him now even more with Gabe out for the year.”
Dudley’s path to New Mexico State has been a winding one. The native of Okinawa, Japan, played high school basketball at LA Premier Prep in Los Angeles, began his college career at Rider in 2023-24, then moved on to Hutchinson Community College in Kansas before landing at Louisiana Tech.
His junior season ended on a rough note, with just five points on 2 of 16 shooting in a Conference USA title game loss to Kennesaw State, the same team Gonzaga saw in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. But he opened this season with a much stronger showing, scoring 22 points in Tuesday’s win over Western New Mexico.
That makes Dudley an early test for Gonzaga guard Isiah Harwell, who is expected to handle most of the team’s toughest perimeter assignments after spending a year with Kelvin Sampson at Houston.
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