Eric Gilliland has molded the Cloud County Community College baseball program into one of the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference's best and most consistent programs. Since his hiring in June 2016, Gilliland, who is Cloud County's all-time winningest coach with 348 victories, has led the T-Birds to five consecutive NJCAA Region 6 Plains District Baseball Tournament appearances (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026), including reaching the tournament title game in 2025, the first in school history. Gilliland captured KJCCC West Division Coach of the Year honors in 2026.
2026 was a memorable year for Gilliland, beginning with his 300th career win. Behind Cloud County's 4-2 road victory over Tyler Junior College on February 6, 2026, Gilliland captured his 300th win as the T-Birds' skipper. He became the first head coach in Cloud County baseball history to reach the 300-win mark.
Gilliland led the T-Birds to a 50-7 record in 2026, establishing a new program record for wins in a single season. Cloud County won its first-ever KJCCC West Division Championship by sweeping a twinbill over Seward County Community College on April 29, 2026. The club ended the regular season with a 28-4 conference record and reached as high as No. 2 in the NJCAA Division I Baseball Rankings. For the season, Cloud County hit .364 as a team, the second-best team batting average in school history, while the team also established new program records for runs (668), triples (30), home runs (142) and runs batted in (606).
Simon Baker, designated hitter, became Cloud County's first-ever NJCAA First-Team All-American selection in program history, after he hit .404 at the plate with a .929 slugging-percentage and a .542 on-base percentage. Baker ranked second on the team with 20 home runs, third on the team in doubles with 12, and led the team in triples with 12. Baker drew a team-leading 45 walks and ended the year with 73 RBI on 74 hits. The 2026 KJCCC West Division Most Valuable Player, Baker ranked in the top five in the division in triples, home runs, total bases and walks. Baker led the NJCAA in triples and is now Cloud County's all-time career leader in triples. Additionally, Baker, a native of Cochrane, Alberta, Canada, is tied for second in school history in single-season runs scored, third in both home runs and RBI in a season, and is tied for seventh all-time in single-season hits.
Sophomore Cohen Nelson was tabbed as the KJCCC West Division Pitcher of the Year. Nelson went 7-0 on the mound and ranked first in the KJCCC West Division with a 1.48 ERA, which marks the lowest ERA with a minimum of 24 innings pitched in Cloud County history. Nelson, who also received First Team All-Region 6 honors, pitched 42.2 innings and ranked third in the KJCCC West Division with 77 total strikeouts. A native of Grand Island, Nebraska, Nelson allowed just seven earned runs, including three home runs, while holding opposing hitters to a .145 batting average.
In 2025, Gilliland reached another impressive milestone, notching his 259th career victory with a 7-6 road win over No. 1 Weatherford College to become the winningest coach in T-Birds history, surpassing Greg Brummett on Cloud County's all-time wins list. Under Gilliland's tutelage, Cloud County third baseman Nolan Freund was named an honorable mention All-American by the NJCAA Division I Baseball Committee. Freshman Cole Linton was tabbed as the 2025 Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference West Division Pitcher of the Year, and Cloud County placed ten recipients on the All-KJCCC West team and three on the All-Region 6 team.
While at Cloud County, Gilliland has coached 69 players who have transferred to NCAA Division I schools and 157 players that have moved on to four-year programs. Former T-Bird pitcher Erik Sabrowski was drafted in the 2018 Major League Baseball draft and made his big-league debut for the Cleveland Guardians in 2024, including pitching in five postseason games.
Gilliland graduated from Concordia High School in 2005 before beginning his collegiate playing career at Cloud County Community College. Gilliland spent two years as a two-way player for the T-Birds, earning time on the mound and in the outfield, and received Academic All-American honors.
Gilliland received his Bachelor's degree in Health and Human Performance from Fort Hays State University in 2009 before obtaining his Master’s degree in Sports Administration from Fort Hays State University in 2011. Gilliland was a two-time All-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) selection as a pitcher for the Fort Hays State Tigers and is currently ranked in the top ten in program history in strikeouts and innings pitched.
Following his collegiate playing career, Gilliland played professionally for three years in Independent Baseball, amassing a career 3.95 ERA in 86 professional appearances on the mound for the Wichita Wingnuts of Wichita, Kansas, the Gateway Grizzlies of Sauget, Illinois, and the Midwest Sliders of Ypsilanti, Michigan.
Gilliland is married to the former Ambria Menard, also from Concordia, Kansas. They are the parents of three sons, Jack (12), Kip (6), and Brooks (4) and one daughter, the late Hattie Jo Gilliland.
