Completed Event: Baseball at Stanford on May 9, 2025 , Win , 4, to, 3
Baseball
at Stanford
W 4-3
Grand Canyon University Athletics
2019 Baseball Roster
Roster
Bess, Cuba
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Jersey Number 34
Cuba Bess
- Position:
- 1B
- Ht./Wt.:
- 6-2 / 220
- Class:
- Redshirt Sophomore
- B/T:
- L/R
- Hometown:
- Fruita, Colo.
- HS:
- Fruita Monument
- Major:
- Justice Studies
Bio
Grand Canyon
2020 | RS Junior
- Was just returning to full health before cancellation of season.
- Recorded nine at bats, mostly in pinch-hit appearances, recording four hits.
2019 | RS Sophomore
- Returned from injury to post a second-team All-WAC season at first base.
- Led GCU in batting average (.341), slugging percentage (.632) and on-base percentage (.476) with all three marks also ranking in the WAC's top 10. His on-base percentage ranked 43rd nationally.
- Had a breakout season offensively, posting the program's top slugging percentage since 2010 and top on-base percentage since 2012.
- Tied for second on the team with 11 home runs, one off the team-leading pace of Kona Quiggle.
- Hit home runs in both games of a doubleheader at USC on March 3, part of a three-game series that the Lopes won.
- Hit first career grand slam in the first inning of GCU's 25-18 win over Xavier on March 16.
- Went 5 for 5 at Sacramento State on May 17.
2018 | Redshirt
- Missed the majority of the season due to an injury sustained against Washington State on Feb. 20.
- Hit first career homer against TCU on Feb. 17.
2017 | Freshman
- Saw action in 35 games including 15 starts, compiling a .253 (20-for-79) batting average.
- Was an early-season favorite in the DH spot, recording a double in his first career at bat against No. 22 Oklahoma State on Feb. 19.
- Best day at the plate came in a March 11 game against San Francisco where he went 3 for 5 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
- Had a multi-hit performance against eventual Super Regional host, Long Beach State, on March 18.
- Tied Quin Cotton and Kona Quiggle for the most hits by a freshman (20).
Summer League
- 2017 - Anchorage Glacier Pilots (Alaska)
- 2019 - Mankato MoonDogs (Northwoods)
High School
Fruita Monument High School - Fruita, Colo.
- Hit .492 over his three-year varsity career, including a peak batting average of .562 as a junior in 2015.
- Drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 39th Round of the 2016 MLB Draft.
- Became the first player drafted out of his high school since 1998 and fifth in school history.
- Was named the league's Player of the Year in both his junior and senior seasons.
- Landed on the 2016 Southwestern League All-Conference first team and won Player of the Year honors.
- Named as a 2016 Rawlings All-American Honorable Mention.
- Of his 94 career hits, over half (49) were of the extra-base variety including 32 doubles and 6 home runs.
- Posted state-best marks of 40 RBIs and a 1.125 slugging percentage as a junior in 2015 to go along with his second-ranked batting average of .562.
- Had a team-leading 11 doubles as a senior in 2016, tied for seventh in Colorado Class 5A baseball.
- Ranked as the top first baseman of his class in Colorado, according to Perfect Game.
- Also played for Adam Kennedy Baseball in southern California and played for the Cincinnati Reds Area Code All-Star team, where he was named the MVP of the showcase's final day.
- Played golf for three years.
- Made the honor roll, graduated with honors and was a four-year academic letterman.
Personal
- Parents are Johnny Bess and Jennifer Perez.
- Named “Cuba” after his dad got the idea watching Cuba Gooding Jr. in Boyz n the Hood. Name featured in an NCAA.com article titled “The stories behind the most interesting names in the game” on May 19, 2017.
- Father, Johnny, was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 22nd Round of the 1992 draft out of Mesa State College (now Colorado Mesa). Johnny was a switch-hitting utility man who spent time as a catcher, outfielder and first baseman who advanced as high as Triple-A.
- Hobbies off the field include hiking and golfing.
- Cites his parents as his biggest influencers for their constant support in academics and athletics.
- Chose GCU because he "liked the campus and the area of Phoenix" as well as "the coaches, the baseball facilities, and how far the baseball program has come."
- Favorite TV show is Friends.
GCU Baseball - WAC Tournament vs. Utah Tech - Highlights
Thursday, May 22
Baseball at Stanford - Barreras' game-winning double
Saturday, May 10
Baseball vs. Arizona (5/6/25) - Yorke homers twice to break record
Wednesday, May 07
GCU Baseball - Eli Paton walk-off single vs. UTA
Saturday, April 26
