Men's Basketball | 10/16/2026 3:23:00 PM

The Cloud County Community College men's basketball team was picked to finish ninth in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) Division I Preseason Coaches' Poll.

The T-Birds received 79 points in the poll. Picked as the preseason favorite is Coffeyville, which collected three first-place votes and 140 points, five more than Butler (135), which also earned three first-place tallies. Barton (129), with three first-place votes, Cowley (125) and Hutchinson (106) round out the top five. Cowley received one first-place vote, while Hutchinson picked up a pair of first-place votes in the poll.

Garden City (103) was slotted sixth, followed by Seward County (100) and Dodge City (81). Trailing Cloud County and rounding out the poll is Independence (55), Fort Hays Tech Northwest (48), Pratt (43) and Colby (26).

The T-Birds are led by Kyle Pugh, who enters his third year as head coach. Pugh welcomes back two starters and five returning players for the 2026-2027 season. Sophomore forward D'ontez Walker played in 32 games last season, earning 24 starts, while guard Kaidan Chatham made seven starts and played in 25 games.

Walker concluded the 2025-2026 campaign with averages of 11.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Walker converted 58.7 percent of his attempts from the field.

Chathman averaged 6.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

The T-Birds should also be bolstered by the return of sophomore guard Kam Williams, who averaged 7.2 points per game, and sophomore guard Jack Skocny, who appeared in 20 games and averaged 0.6 points per game. Sophomore guard Amare Johnson will also return after a redshirt season a year ago. Johnson, from Olathe, Kansas, played in 25 of 32 games with seven starts as a freshman where he averaged 3.0 points per game on 45.3 percent shooting, including 35.7 percent from three-point range.

Redshirt freshman Ben Nicholson, a forward from Great Bend, Kansas, is also back after a redshirt season a year ago.

Pugh has added 12 new players to the roster for 2026-2027, including guard Jeremiah Shealey, a transfer from Gordon State College. The T-Birds also added redshirt freshman guard Jaylen Claggett, a transfer from Lander University. 

Cloud County opens the 2026-2027 season on Tuesday, November 3 against Sterling College JV. Tip-off is set for 8 pm from Arley Bryant Gymnasium. Live coverage of the game can be found on the T-Bird Sports Network.