Three T-Birds sign letters of intent

Cloud County Community College head baseball coach Eric Gilliland has announced that three Thunderbirds have signed their national letters of intent to move on to NCAA Division I and II Universities for the 2021-2022 school year.
Signing with NCAA Division II University of Central Oklahoma is second-year freshmen infielders Jaden Parsons and Trevor Stevens, while freshman Kayden Beauregard has signed to play for NCAA Division I Illinois State University.
“We are extremely excited for these three guys to get the opportunities that they have at the next level in what is a tough climate for recruiting right now,” Gilliland said. “It is truly a testament to the type of players and people that they are. Both ISU and UCO are places with a great culture and have had a lot of success recently. We are proud of all three of them and will rely heavily on their leadership this spring.”
Beauregard becomes the seventh T-Bird over the past two years to move on to the Division I level and will join a Redbird program, that has made a resurgence under third-year head coach Steve Holm as ISU made the 2019 NCAA Tournament and pushed national-seed Louisville to a winner-take-all game in the regional round before seeing the Cardinals finish the year as one of the final four remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament.
During the shortened 2020 season for Illinois State, the Redbirds would get off to a 7-9 start which included road wins over nationally-ranked Oklahoma and Arkansas before seeing the season end due to COVID-19.
Beauregard, who is a British Columbia native, is expected to make his debut for Cloud County this upcoming spring after transferring in from Iowa Western Community College following the 2020 season.
“I'm very excited to be joining the Illinois State program and am looking forward to helping contribute to the winning culture that they have established,” Beauregard said. “After talking with the coaching staff, I believe that they will also help me reach my goals and that it will be a great fit for me.”
Parsons and Stevens will join a Broncho team that has made three consecutive NCAA Division II regional tournament appearances and got off to a 17-3 record in what wound up being a shortened 2020 season.
During the 2020 season, Parsons appeared in 18 games, collecting 19 hits in 61 at-bats while scoring 18 runs and stealing five bases, with a .311 batting average and .425 on-base percentage. The Vernon, British Columbia native, would record multiple hits in five of his 18 games played, which included a four-for-six performance with two doubles two runs scored in the second game of the year as part of a 16-7 victory over Fort Scott Community College on February 8, 2020.
“I chose the University of Central Oklahoma because of the incredible baseball and academic programs,” Parsons said. “They are one of the most competitive Division II schools in the country and I hope we have a chance to compete for a national title. To go along with the winning culture, the town of Edmond and the campus are truly spectacular and something that really stood out to me in the decision-making process.”
Stevens will also look to add some infield versatility to the Broncho roster as the Omaha native appeared in 12 games last season, recording 11 hits in 35 at-bats with four doubles and one home run to go along with 10 RBI. The .514 slugging percentage by Stevens ranked fifth among CCCC players who appeared in at least 10 games while also boasting a .314 batting average and .467 on-base percentage.
“I chose the University of Central Oklahoma because of their successful business program and nationally competitive baseball program,” Stevens said. “UCO is one of the biggest NCAA Division II universities in the country and that was also a big attraction. The city of Edmond is a beautiful town that helps make UCU feel like home.”