These guys don't just drive the team bus. They go the extra mile for the players who love them

Best gift ever

McCloud attends Bible study with the team before Sunday games, he was invited to the baptism for coach Nick Mingione's son and he's prayed with players before surgeries. McCloud is so beloved that the Wildcats wanted him with them at home games, so in 2019 Mingione hired him as umpire room attendant and as one of the officials who do NCAA-mandated pregame bat testing. Of the many gifts McCloud has received from the team, one stands out. After the Wildcats were eliminated from the CWS, McCloud drove the team to its waiting chartered plane. He planned to do the drop-off and then drive the 14 hours back to Lexington. Instead, Mingione got off the bus, turned around and told McCloud to get on the plane, too. Another driver was sent to Omaha, Nebraska, to pick up the bus. “Someone asked me how I liked the flight,” McCloud said, “and I said I cried the first half-hour. It was a very emotional thing.”

‘I’ve got the mojo'

Elliott, 42, has been driving for Knight Coach for 20 years and full-time with Delta State teams for eight. He spoke by phone this week from Pensacola, Florida, where the Statesmen were playing in the NCAA Division II tournament. “I'm in the dugout with the baseball team, I'm on the sideline with the head coach on the football team and I'm on the last seat on the bench with the men's basketball team. That's how I roll," Elliott said. Elliott said coaches embrace his big personality, and he relates well with players because he has children about the same age. He gives pregame motivational speeches, tells players to keep their head up after a bad play and generally lifts spirits. “I don't act old," he said. “I act like them. Coach said I've got the mojo." Thurman, 75, drove TCU teams for nine years for Echo AFC Transportation and bonded with players and coaches by telling them tales. He was in the Army for 26 years and did three tours in Vietnam and seven in Central America, and said he briefly worked in White House security. He drove 18-wheelers, worked for a company that used helicopters to place cell towers in remote locations and drove national park tour buses. “He was always cheerful, so happy to be around us, and it uplifted us to want to be better,” fifth-year pitcher Louis Rodriguez said. “Look at what he's done in life. I can tell you I wouldn't want anyone else driving me because I know he'll keep me safe."

Keeping sons safe

Thurman, who still attends home games, said a lot of bus drivers miss out by choosing not to get too close to their teams. Like McCloud and Elliott are with their teams, Thurman was a constant presence at the field, at team dinners and in the hotel lobby for serious and unserious conversations. Thurman said a lot of players shared his passion for hunting and fishing, and they would while away the time talking about it. A couple players visited his house to see his trophy room. Thurman also became friends with players' parents, all of whom would thank him for keeping their sons safe on the road. “That's the main thing about all this," Thurman said. “We’ve got precious cargo.” \\\_ AP college sports: