Men's Basketball | 11/2/2026 6:03:00 PM

The Cloud County Community College men's basketball team officially opens the 2026-2027 season when it plays host to Sterling College JV on Tuesday, November 3. The contest will tip from Arley Bryant Gymnasium at 8 pm and the game will be streamed live on the T-Bird Sports Network.

The Cloud County-Sterling College contest marks their third meeting in the last eight years, with the last meeting a 91-52 win on November 12, 2024. The T-Birds also defeated the Warriors 115-96 on November 5, 2019.

Cloud County head coach Kyle Pugh is entering his third season. Pugh owns a 32-32 overall record in his first two seasons at the helm of the T-Birds, including a 19-29 mark in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) play. In 2025-2026, he guided Cloud County to an 18-14 record. The T-Birds hosted a first round NJCAA Region 6 Division I Men's Basketball Tournament game, recording an 86-66 win over Garden City Community College. With the win, Cloud County advanced to the tournament quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive season.

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.

Chatham 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.

Following their season-opener, Cloud County will travel to Hutchinson, Kansas for the 2026 BSN Sports Tip-Off Classic November 6-7. The T-Birds will first face Northern Oklahoma College-Enid on November 6, before matching up with Northeastern Junior College on November 7.