Baseball | 10/16/2026 10:12:00 PM

The Cloud County Community College baseball program's new year-round home at Lee Doyen Field at the Concordia Sports Complex, Hamel Family Clubhouse, was unveiled on Friday, October 16 in front of alumni, friends and supporters of Cloud County athletics and Cloud County baseball.

Friday's event was a long time coming, the first permanent on-site clubhouse in the history of Cloud County baseball. It also checked off another box in the process of turning Lee Doyen Field into one of the top junior college baseball facilities in the nation.

The vision became a reality thanks to the generosity of numerous donors, headlined by Zach Hamel's lead gift. Hamel, a former Cloud County baseball student-athlete from 1984-1986, continued his unwavering commitment to progressing Cloud County baseball with his $250,000 lead gift. Hamel previously helped spearhead the Dunning-Hamel Baseball Training Facility that opened in March 2018 on the college's Concordia campus.

The one-story, 2,300-square foot building will serve as the team's permanent clubhouse. It features a locker room, coaches' offices, a player lounge area, restrooms, laundry facility, equipment storage, and a kitchenette. Additionally, a new batting cage area was installed to the north of the building, while the clubhouse also includes an additional 3,000-square-feet of patio space.

The Hamel family name adorns the exterior of the building. Zach Hamel, who was joined by wife Heather and daughter Charlie, was in attendance and threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to game two of the baseball program's annual intrasquad scrimmage, Black and Gold World Series.

The dedication ceremony featured remarks from Cloud County Community College President Amber Knoettgen and T-Bird head baseball coach Eric Gilliland.

Gilliland expressed his gratitude to the more than 50 alumni, friends and businesses that made gifts to the space. Of that, 45 locker sponsorships of $500 each were supported by friends and alumni athletes, many of whom played baseball at Cloud County. Ten donors provided gifts of $10,000 or more.

The lockers feature plaques dedicated to those that made the project possible.

The Cloud County Community College Board of Trustees and the Cloud County Community College Foundation Board of Directors each contributed $50,000 to the project, while Architect One, Cloud Ceramics, Purewater of NCK and U.S. Stone Industries donated services and labor. Senger Construction was the general contractor on the project.

Following the dedication ceremony, the public received its first glimpse inside the new clubhouse, which is located adjacent to the Cloud County home dugout at the Concordia Sports Complex. The college has a longstanding partnership with the City of Concordia using Lee Doyen Field for both practices and games. The facility complements a recent infield turf project, which was also a partnership between the college and the city.

The Cloud County baseball team is coming off its most successful season in school history with a record of 50-7, climbing as high as No. 2 in the NJCAA Division I Baseball Rankings and winning the program's first-ever Kansas Jayhawk Community College (KJCCC) West Division Championship. Twelve members of last year's baseball team were recognized with postseason honors by the KJCCC, and seventeen players signed to continue their playing careers at four-year schools, including eleven with NCAA Division I schools.

Now equipped with a top-grade facility, the Cloud County baseball program will begin its 2027 season in February. The home opener is scheduled for Saturday, February 20 against Highland Community College. A full schedule will be released at a later date.