In May of 2021, Tyson Guerrero, Brandon White, and Dakota Hawkins walked down a street in Pullman together.
That was a bit more special of a three-year reunion than it might sound at face value, and a bit more noteworthy of one than most W.F. West alums get to have — three Bearcat baseball players, all suiting up for Pac-12 schools to play against one another when Guerrero and UW paid an Apple Cup visit to White, Hawkins, and WSU. Former W.F. West coach Bryan Bullock made the trip out to watch, as did Bearcat pitching coach Jason Kelley.
A future get-together could be even more of an occasion.
The three members of the W.F. West Class of 2018 took their separate paths to get where they are now, but as of July 11, all three are professional baseball players, living the dream in the minor leagues.
“It’s kind of crazy to be playing together, go do our separate things, go back to playing together, and then now doing something bigger,” Hawkins said. “It’s something cool.”
Hawkins became the last third of the triumvirate to enter the pro scene July 11, after playing five seasons in college — two at Lower Columbia, followed by three for Washington State. He finished his collegiate career with a stellar season as the Cougars’ Friday starter, leading WSU with 92 strikeouts in 73 innings.
He went into the MLB draft expecting to hear his name called at the podium, but after 20 rounds came and went, he didn’t last long as an undrafted free agent, signing with the New York Mets.
“I just sent him a message and said, ‘Congrats, and I’ll see you soon,’” White said.
That’s because White, who was drafted by the Marlins after his junior season in Pullman, is currently located in Jupiter, Fla., playing for Miami’s Florida Complex League. The Mets’ FCL team is just 40 minutes up the road, in St. Lucie.
And unlike on the west coast, where a call-up from rookie ball to Single-A means a trip from Arizona to California, both sides’ Single-A teams play at the same ballparks as their FCL squads. So even if the Marlins promote White or the Mets choose to start Hawkins in Single-A, they’ll still be neighbors in the Sunshine State, until one goes the next step to High-A.
Bullock said he also sent Hawkins a congratulatory text after learning of his contract.
“I know it’ll be a whirlwind for him, but he is a baseball kid,” Bullock said. “That kid is one of the funnest kids to coach because he loves baseball. He loves to celebrate his teammates, and he’s going to put in the hard work, and someone’s going to be real happy they took a chance on him.”
Guerrero, meanwhile, is the highest up the affiliate ladder of the three, currently throwing for the High-A Quad City River Bandits in Davenport, Iowa, in the Kansas City Royals organization, where he boasts a 4.06 ERA and a .214 batting average against in 71 innings.
Hawkins jumped into the W.F. West varsity roster as a freshman; by the end of their sophomore seasons, both he and Guerrero were on the Chronicle All-Area team.
White joined them there after their junior year, when Guerrero took home Player of the Year honors. As seniors, White and Guerrero split the top billing, with Hawkins earning his third straight nod to the squad.
“Tyson Guerrero was maybe developed a little bit earlier than the other two,” Bullock said. “Brandon came into his own his junior and senior year, was one of the most dominant high school pitchers in the state. Dakota was an all-around player; he was a shortstop, he was a great hitter for us. As a freshman he made varsity and played on a playoff team.
“All three of them, they were a little bit different types of players, and it was really fun to coach all three of them.”
The three of them helped power the Bearcats to three straight State tournaments — making it as far as the title game as juniors in 2017 — but lost to Ellensburg all three years.
And beyond that trio who shared a class comes Brock Jones, who was a junior when they were seniors but signed with the Diamondbacks right out of high school. He’s currently in Visalia, Calif., playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks’ High-A team.
“It’s crazy. Right when I saw Dakota sign, the first thing I thought about was how there was me, Tyson, Dakota, and Brock Jones … four guys on one team to make it,” White said. “And 2A is big for our area, but that’s not that big by any means, so it’s crazy to all come out of that area.”
Hawkins is set to get his marching orders from the Mets front office in the next week or two, heading to Florida to either suit up for the FCL Mets or the Single-A St. Lucie Mets. White, who was delayed by injury for a year, has a few FCL starts under his belt; he said he could be called up to the Single-A Jupiter Hammerheads by the end of the summer. Guerrero could be in line for a call-up as well; most of his stats rank at or near the top of the High-A Midwest League.
Safe to say, if there’s another W.F. West baseball reunion somewhere in the near future, it’ll be as star-studded as any high school can offer.
“It’s kind of weird to see milestones roll over in your career, like, ‘Oh, all three of us are playing in college, all three of us are playing against each other,’” White said. “Then the pro ball opportunity comes around, and here we are again. I can’t think of another school or another place where you had three guys who all grew up together, all played on the same team, even before high school we were playing together, and we are where we are now.”
