Baseball | 2/5/2026 4:18:00 PM

The Cloud County Community College baseball team will travel to Tyler, Texas to open the 2026 season with four-games. The T-Birds will play Arkansas State University-Mountain Home at 12 pm on Friday, February 6, and will close the day with a 2:30 pm contest against Tyler Junior College. Cloud County and Tyler will meet again on Saturday, February 7, with first pitch at 11 am. The T-Birds will then end the weekend against Arkansas State University-Mountain Home at 1:30 pm on Saturday.

Cloud County will play eight of their first ten games on the road, traveling to Kansas City Kansas Community College for a single, nine-inning game on February 17, before visiting No. 7 Weatherford College for three games February 20-21. The T-Birds will hold their home opener against Kansas Wesleyan University JV on February 12.

Cloud County posted a 48-17 overall record and a 25-7 mark in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) play in 2025. The team's 48 total wins established a new program record for wins in a single-season, and 2025 marked the team's third 40-plus win season in the last four years. The T-Birds capped off the year by reaching their first NJCAA Region 6 Plains District Baseball Tournament title game in program history.

The T-Birds enter the 2026 season as the preseason favorite in the KJCCC - West Division Poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches, and the team is receiving votes in the preseason NJCAA Division I Baseball Rankings.

Cloud County returns three All-KJCCC West selections from last year, including KJCCC West Division Pitcher of the Year Cole Linton. Linton earned Pitcher of the Year and First-Team honors after posting a 7-2 record on the mound last season. Linton, originally from Goodland, Kansas, had a 4.28 ERA after throwing in a team-high 69.1 innings where he allowed 33 earned runs on 68 hits with 55 strikeouts while walking only six batters. Linton, a signee to Tarleton State University, pitched three complete games and had six games with five or more strikeouts.

The T-Birds also welcome back All-KJCCC honorable mention pitcher Stocton Timbrook. Timbrook made 23 appearances and four starts for Cloud County in 2025, ending the year with a 5-2 record and a 5.13 ERA. Timbrook, from Abilene, Kansas, threw 40.1 innings, giving up 23 earned runs on 39 hits while striking out 42 batters. Timbrook has signed to pitch at Kansas State University next year.

Other returning hurlers who made starts for the T-Birds last year include Evan Bogart, Cohen Nelson, Kai Rempel, and Ben Soke, while adding experience out of the bullpen are Sam Brummund and Hayden Malaise.

Sophomore second baseman Joey Marino, a 2025 All-KJCCC honorable mention selection, headlines the T-Birds' returning offensive cast. Marino, a native of British Columbia, Canada, batted .373 in 2025 with 76 hits, 50 runs scored and 68 RBI. Marino, who has signed to play baseball at USC Upstate, had a .474 on-base percentage and was second on the team in doubles with 16 while adding one triple and eight home runs.

Sophomore Lucas Laukkanen, another middle infielder from British Columbia, Canada, finished the 2025 season with a .317 batting average with 46 hits, 38 runs scored and 38 RBI. Laukkanen was second on the team last season with 10 home runs.

Sophomore infielder Kaden Budke, sophomore outfielder Carter Cathers, sophomore infielder Luke Clayton, sophomore infielder Tony Crow, sophomore outfielder Zach Miller, and sophomore catcher Vasya Seymour all figure to impact the Cloud County lineup.

Additionally, the T-Birds expect to see significant action out of Simon Baker a transfer from Gonzaga University. Baker did not play in 2025. A redshirt freshman from Cochrane, Alberta, Canada and Cochrane High School, Baker earned MVP honors at the 2023 T12 Tournament,  the largest futures showcase event in Canada. Baker has also earned spots on the Canada Junior National team, Team Alberta (four times), and earned a Silver Medal at the Canada Summer Games in 2022.

Evan Gunn, a redshirt freshman transfer from Iowa Western Community College, will look to be an impact performer in the infield and outfield this spring. Gunn is a graduate of Naxwell Heights in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Newcomer Broxton Barrientos from Grand Island, Nebraska is expected to play a key role in the outfield for the T-Birds, while Kellan Burke, a freshman from Minot, North Dakota, and Jacob Levesque, a transfer from Queens College, will provide depth at the catcher position.