Baker named KJCCC MVP

Webber Wildcats and Junior National Team alum Simon Baker (Cochrane, Alta.) has been named KJCCC MVP. Photo: Cloud County Athletics

May 14, 2026

Official KJCCC Athletics News Release

COLBY, Kan. – The Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference has announced the 2026 All-KJCCC West Division Baseball teams and winners of the major postseason honours.

The awards, which were voted on by each of the league head coaches, include four individuals from two different conference institutions bringing home major accolades.

Major award winners from the 2026 regular season are Most Valuable Player Simon Baker (Cochrane, Alta.) of Cloud County, Pitcher of the Year Cohen Nelson of Cloud County, Freshman of the Year Turner Rhett Winchester of Barton, and Coach of the Year Eric Gilliland of Cloud County.

Most Valuable Player: Simon Baker (Cloud County)

Ranking in the top five of the KJCCC West Division in triples (12), home runs (20), total bases (169), and walks (44), Baker was one of the most electrifying and dangerous batters at the plate in the division after posting a batting average of .412 and leading the division in both on-base percentage (.549) and slugging percentage (.955). The 12 triples were the most of any KJCCC Baseball West Division player, while his 20 home runs ranked fifth, also drawing 11 hit-by-pitches and stealing 14 total bases.

Freshman of the Year: Rhett Winchester (Barton)

The league leader in stolen bases across both divisions, Winchester swiped 41 bags this season and posted a .412 batting average with 14 home runs and 59 RBI for the Cougars. Ranking third in the conference in triples with eight, Winchester also tallied 159 total bases and recorded 84 total hits, which ranked seventh among KJCCC players. Nationally, Winchester’s stolen base total ranks fifth among NJCAA Division 1 players.

Pitcher of the Year: Cohen Nelson (Cloud County)

The second-straight player from Cloud County to earn KJCCC West Division Pitcher of the Year honors, Nelson went unbeaten on the mound this season by posting a 6-0 record across 37 2/3 innings with a 1.19 earned run average and 70 strikeouts. Six of Nelson's nine starts came in conference play, recording 17.47 strikeouts per nine innings against conference foes and allowing just four earned runs in 28.1 innings of work. Posting four outings with double-digit strikeouts, Nelson had 11 strikeouts on three different occasions and accounted for 41 strikeouts across his final four outings of the regular season.

Coach of the Year: Eric Gilliland (Cloud County)

Following back-to-back second-place finishes in the KJCCC West Division, Gilliland led the T-Birds to their first division crown in program history by going 28-4 in league play to finish two games ahead of second-place Hutchinson Community College. In the regular season, Cloud County posted a 49-5 overall record and their highest national ranking in program history, ascending to number two in the final NJCAA Division 1 Baseball Top 25 poll of the regular season. As a team, Cloud County ranked in the top three in the league in runs, hits, home runs, extra-base hits, total bases, and walks while posting the second-best team ERA in the KJCCC.