Softball | 2/16/2026 3:16:00 PM
The Cloud County Community College softball team opens the 2026 season with a non-conference doubleheader against the Southeast Ccommunity College Bobcats on Tuesday, February 17. First pitch is scheduled for 1 pm from the CCCC Softball Field. The games will be streamed on the
T-Bird Sports Network.
Cloud County enters the season with plenty of excitement, led by returning All-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Division II honorable mention selections
Emalee Johnson and
Maliyah Koster. Johnson split time at catcher and first base for the T-Birds during the 2025 season. The native of Concordia, Kansas was second on the team in batting average at .365 with a .478 on-base percentage. Johnson collected 42 hits with eight doubles, one triple and one home run. She scored 25 runs and added 25 RBI. Behind the plate, Johnson led Cloud County with 161 put outs to go with nine assists.
Koster, a returning starting short stop, was third on the team in batting average at .355 with a .484 slugging percentage. Koster led the team with 29 runs scored on 44 hits with eight doubles, one triple and two home runs. She had 13 multi-hit games and finished the season with 24 RBI. In the field, Koster helped turn three double plays and had 60 put outs and a team-high 77 assists.
The T-Birds will also see the return of second baseman
Hailey Garcia and outfielders
Berkleigh Curtis and
Bella Santin. Garcia batted .286 on the season with 26 hits, six doubles and 12 RBI. Curtis hit .291 on the year with 25 hits, six doubles, two home runs and 13 RBI. Santin was fourth on the team with a .323 average with 30 hits, 26 runs scored, and 19 RBI.
Following the graduations of
Paige Mahler,
Harley Smith and
Brecken Whitney, Curtis is the only returning player that made any appearances in the circle for Cloud County a year ago. Curtis started two games, finishing the year with a 1-1 record and a 5.44 ERA. This year, the T-Birds will lean heavily on a trio of freshman pitchers:
Ava Boden from Derby, Kansas;
Maddie Harold from Milford, Kansas; and
Morgan Williams from Sedgwick, Kansas.
Cloud County finished the 2025 season with a 16-28 overall record and a 7-15 record in conference play. Cloud County has been projected to finish seventh in this year's stacked KJCCC Division II preseason poll. The team expects transfers
Kendal Ratzlaff from Dodge City Community College and
Yesenia Zamarron from Northern Oklahoma College-Enid to be key players in the lineup. The T-Birds will also depend on a talented group of newcomers, including
Allison Adams of Wakefield, Kansas;
Emily Carver of Cortez, Colorado;
Hannah Gardner of Salina, Kansas;
Kadence Hall of Wichita, Kansas;
Callie Jones of Silver Lake, Kansas;
Brooke Lougheed of Spruce View, Alberta, Canada; and
Jaci Vonlintel of Hays, Kansas.
Southeast Community College is coming off a 24-23 campaign in 2025, including a pair of wins over Cloud County in neutral-site games played in Salina, Kansas. The Bobcats are out to an 0-2 start to begin the 2026 season after dropping two games at Hutchinson Community College on February 7.
