In 2025, senior Gavin Roy started all 54 games with the Cougs. As the team’s starting shortstop he batted 0.288, smacked 60 hits and led the team with eight stolen bases. 

At an eye-catching 5-foot-9, the Sudbury, Ontario native’s impressive year made him stand out on the roster. But, that was not the only reason he popped off the page. 

Prior to his move to the Cougs, Roy played two years at Cloud County Community College. In 2025 he was the only Coug to hail from the small school out of Concordia, Kansas. 

However, that is officially changing in 2026. Redshirt sophomore Scott Rienguette and junior Cam Macleod are both joining WSU after spending two years each at Cloud County.

Despite being 1,600 miles away from the Palouse, the program’s players have caught the eye of the Cougs time and time again. 

“The guys from Cloud County have some toughness to them,” WSU assistant coach Eric Hutting said. “They just seem to be prepared for our program… They carry themselves the right way.”

That toughness is a direct result of the Cloud County coaching staff. 

“Their head coach Eric Gilliland, he does a really good job preparing his guys for the D1 level,” Hutting said. “I think there’s a lot of similarities with how he runs his program and how we run our program.”

The similarity is apparent to both coaches and players alike. In fact, it swayed some player’s decision to transfer.  

“It’s a great program,” Macleod said. “I knew a bunch of people that came here before me. [Roy] played a big role in this… it’s a place where you come and compete.” 

Roy played a role in more than just Macleod’s decision. 

“I was the last one out of the two,” Rienguette said. “So it definitely made it a little easier to go to a place that I already know guys that are at. [Roy] had a lot of high praises about it, and I could tell why.” 

Roy’s high praises were not just for the Cougs, but for Rienguette and Macleod as well. 

“[Rienguette] is a pitcher that [Roy] actually gave us some inside information about,” Hutting said. “Coach Gilliland gave us a good recommendation. A guy that competes in the strike zone. Is tough and is not scared of the moment… he’s going to compete. No matter what the situation is he’s always going to compete.” 

Macleod’s demeanor also flashed on the Cougs’ radar.  

“His ability to defend the plate was a thing that stood out to us,” Hutting said. “He’s also got some physicality to him and some leadership qualities behind the plate with his demeanor and his body language.” 

All three former T-Birds have already shown flashes of their Cloud County chemistry, which was on display in the fall.  

“It’s fun watching [Rienguette] pitch to [Roy] and then we got [Macleod] behind the plate,” Hutting said. “They can all be involved in one play… it’s fun watching them kind of compete against each other in our scrimmages.” 

That chemistry was years in the making, solidified by their tenure on the T-Birds.

“We would hang out almost every night,” Roy said. “At Cloud all the dorms were right there, so those are probably my favorite memories. Just playing Nintendo Switch every night… just endless memories.” 

Despite his impressive year with the Cougs last season, Roy was not the most coveted player out of high school. 

“[Roy] was maybe overlooked by some schools and he’s got a chip on his shoulder,” Hutting said. “He plays the game hard. I think that was the thing that stood out about him when we evaluated him. He just played the game really hard and he’s our kind of player that we’re looking for in our program.” 

To Roy, Cloud was the perfect place to take his talents. 

“I didn’t really have [many] offers out of high school,” Roy said. “Cloud County was kind of the only school that believed in me. So, they took a chance on me so I thought I’d take a chance on them and it was probably one of the best decisions of my life.” 

After his two years in Kansas, Roy decided to take that same chance on the Cougs. 

“Everything the coaches talked about aligned with what I wanted,” he said. “I came here on a visit and I loved everything about it.” 

With a year under his belt, Roy has the strongest Coug credentials out of the three. But still, Roy believes that the other two haven’t missed a beat.  

“I feel like they caught on pretty quickly,” Roy said. “It was very similar culture wise to Cloud County, so everything was kind of the same.” 

Despite Roy’s claims, Macleod admitted that the jump from JUCO to D1 definitely worried him. That is in part why he decided to begin his collegiate career in Kansas.  

“I knew I wasn’t ready to make that jump straight to D1,” he said. “So, junior college was the best bet for me out of high school.”

Macleod joins a Coug squad with six catchers on the roster, narrowing his window to playing time. However, he accepts the challenge head-on. 

“Ultimately it makes everyone better,” he said. “We’re a team at the end of the day. Everyone wants that role, but if everyone can get a little better with competing and doing all these certain things, I think it’s just overall good for the team.” 

Rienguette has a similar rocky road to playing time. The incoming redshirt sophomore has not slung the rock in two years (outside of summer league baseball in the offseason). Still, Rienguette claims the gap in his resume will not slow him down. 

“I don’t think so. I’ve liked to compete my whole life and I competed in the summer with really high level baseball players and I’m ready to go this year,” he said. 

Rienguette joins a bullpen that struggled in the Mountain West Conference last year. Second to worst team ERA (7.54), second to most losses (36), dead last in wins (18), dead last in saves (five), dead last in strikeouts (321) and third in total walks (246). 

However, Rienguette plans on embracing his role to help cure the Coug’s bullpen woes. 

“I just plan on eating up a lot of innings,” he said. “Last year there were some games that didn’t end up the way [the Cougs] wanted and hopefully we can win more of those close games that coach Choate has been talking about all fall.” 

With three Cloud County alumni already on the roster, the Cougs still plan on pulling from the well. 

“[Cloud County] is always going to have players that we’re going to be interested in,” Hutting said. “I can’t single anybody out, you know, right now. But, their guys are always going to be on our radar.” 

While Hutting couldn’t single anyone out, the three T-Birds had their own personal picks. 

“I would choose Noah Konings,” Macleod said. “Just cause he’s one of my best friends and I’ve known him for four years.”

“I’d probably say Austin Coyle,” Roy said. “He was one of my best friends over there and [I] definitely miss him. He’s at Arkansas Little Rock right now.” 

Rounding it out, Rienguette echoed his two teammates. 

“I think maybe Coyle,” Rienguette said. “Just because that was our group at Cloud. We always hung out. Coyle and [Konings] would probably be the two that were the most in our group.” 

The Cougs draw a tough matchup in their first week of the season, battling the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa for a three game series. Even though they are tussling with an SEC opponent, the former T-Birds welcome the challenge. 

“I’m definitely feeling way more excited,” Roy said. “Around this time last year, I feel like there [were] more nerves just because I didn’t know what to expect going into Arkansas. This year [I’ve] kind of been there and know what to expect and just gonna try to play our best baseball.” 

“It’s not ultimately that we’re playing Alabama,” Macleod said. “It’s more like I’m eager to play. I’m amped up to play… I don’t feel any nerves right now.”  

While there may only be three at the moment, Coug fans should keep their eyes peeled for future Thunderbirds flying over from Cloud County. If Roy is any indicator, they can more than hold their own on the Palouse.