Men's Basketball | 10/18/2024 11:08:00 AM

The votes are in and the Cloud County Community College men's basketball team was picked to finish eighth in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference men's basketball poll released Friday, October 18.

Barton Community College, the defending NJCAA men's basketball national champions, was picked to win the conference title, ahead of Hutchinson, Garden City, Cowley, Coffeyville, Dodge City, Butler, Cloud County, Independence, Seward County, Pratt, Colby and Fort Hays Tech Northwest in that order.

Cloud County is underneath new head coach, Kyle Pugh. Pugh was part of the T-Bird men's basketball program for two seasons under former head coach Devin Kastrup. Kastrup left Cloud County this past spring after accepting an assistant coaching job at Idaho State University.

As an assistant at Cloud, Pugh helped guide the T-Birds to 30 wins during his two seasons, including 21 wins in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference. He assisted in developing practice plans and game plans, provided instruction during on-court coaching and film sessions, prepared written and video scouting reports on opponents, coordinated player development workouts, managed all film operations, and oversaw the community service and work-study program.

Pugh left the Cloud County Community College men's basketball program to serve as an assistant coach at Hutchinson Community College last year. The Blue Dragons finished the 2023-2024 season with a 29-7 overall record, including an appearance in the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Elite Eight.

Pugh is a 2018 graduate of the University of Illinois, holding a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. Prior to coming to Cloud County, Pugh served as a graduate assistant at Jacksonville University, where he worked alongside former T-Bird men's basketball coach Chad Eshbaugh. At Jacksonville, Pugh also earned a Master of Science degree in Sport Management in 2020.

Cloud County opens the regular season at the Meridian Credit Union Classic at the Hellyer Center in Ottumwa, Iowa November 1-2. The T-Birds begin the year against the host school, Indian Hills Community College, at 7 pm on November 1. The Warriors went 29-6 last season, qualifying for the 2024 NJCAA DI Men's Basketball National Championship in Hutchinson, Kansas. Indian Hills reached the semifinal round before losing to the eventual champions, Barton Community College.

The following day, Cloud County will conclude play in the Meridian Credit Union Classic by meeting up with the Sauk Valley Community College Skyhawks at 4:30 pm.

To view the entire 2024-2025 men's basketball schedule, visit: https://cloudtbirds.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule.

All Cloud County home games will be broadcast live on the T-Bird Sports Network: https://cloudtbirds.com/sports/2021/2/24/t-bird-sports-network.aspx.