Four Cloud County Baseball Players Sign National Letters of Intent with Four-Year Universities

Cloud County Community College head baseball coach Eric Gilliland has announced that four current T-Bird players have signed National Letters of Intent to continue their baseball careers following the conclusion of the 2022-23 baseball season at CCCC.

Of the four signees, three have signed with NCAA Division I Universities led by Topeka, Kansas native Brady Stuewe who will join Kansas State University in the fall of 2023. Also signing NCAA Division I Letters of Intent are Cole Askew (Southern Illinois University) and Brayden Mackey (Oral Roberts University) while Cayden Castellanos will join Pittsburg State University at the NCAA Division II ranks.

"We are very proud of the work these four have done and excited for them as they have earned the opportunity to play at quality four-year programs" remarked Gilliland. "Having players move on to the four-year level continues to be a point of pride for our program and we look forward to many more commitments from this year's team over the next several months."

Stuewe's signing with Kansas State University comes following a 2022 season that saw him make 17 total appearances with two starts for Cloud County while helping the T-Birds make the Plains District Tournament for the second time in program history. A key piece of the T-Bird bullpen last season, Stuewe threw a total of 22.2 innings and would allow just 13 earned runs while striking out 30 batters and post a 3-1 overall record on the mound with one save.

"Brady has steadily improved since he got here and took another step forward this fall" said Gilliland. "He has low 90's stuff and pounded the strike zone this fall."

Askew also saw time on the mound for CCCC during the 2022 season, making 15 appearances for the T-Birds and throwing 21.0 innings in relief, and striking out 27 batters while holding hitters to just a .210 batting average. Two of Askew's appearances would come in the postseason for the T-Birds while holding conference foes to a 1.59 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 7.0 innings of work.

"Cole had a very solid freshman year in the bullpen" said Gilliland. "He is a competitive kid that thrives in the back end of games."

A transfer from Northwestern College in Iowa, Mackey joined the T-Birds this fall and will look to be another key piece to the CCCC pitching staff this upcoming spring.

"Brayden transferred in from an NAIA school this fall and got better in every outing" remarked Gilliland. "He has a live arm up to 93 and shut down some really good offenses this fall."

Transferring in from California State University-Chico, Castellanos is another addition to the Cloud County pitching staff for the upcoming season. Appearing in 15 games for the Wildcats in 2022, Castellanos threw 14.1 innings and struck out 12 batters with all 15 appearances coming in relief after spending the 2020 season as a redshirt at the University of New Mexico.

"Cayden is a transfer that can just flat-out pitch and has a great mentality. He was very efficient this fall and immediately stepped in as a leader on our team."

Cloud County will begin its 2023 campaign in mid-February with seven road games before their scheduled home opener against Marshalltown Community College on Saturday, February 25th.