GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — Former Fruita Monument Wildcat Cuba Bess has countless memories at Suplizio Field.

Back-to-back Southwestern League Player of the Year awards in 2015 and 2016. His senior season, he batted .507 for Fruita. He signed a D1 scholarship to play for Grand Canyon University. He was drafted 1160 overall (39th round) by the Colorado Rockies.

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Nine years later, Bess has returned to the Grand Valley to play a baseball game at Suplizio Field for the first time since high school. He’s now a first baseman and catcher for the Yuba-Sutter High Wheelers. He ranks 3rd in the Pioneer League with 16 home runs.

Bess, supported by his whole family at Suplizio Field, is thrilled to be home.

“It’s comfort,” Bess said as he looked around the friendly confines of Suplizio Field. “That feeling when you’re at home, there’s like a little peace to it. It’s like ‘oh, wow, a lot of memories here.’ It’s just a comfortable feeling that no one can take away from you.”

After high school, Bess began his collegiate career at GCU. After three years with the Antelopes, Bess signed with the Boston Red Sox organization, playing two seasons for the FCL (Florida Complex League) Red Sox. Bess then signed with Rockies’ affiliate Fresno Grizzlies (Single-A), before being reassigned to the Spokane Indians, the Rockies’ High-A affiliate. After a year in Spokane, Bess was released. Unsure of his baseball future, he took a year off from the sport. In 2025, the Yuba-Sutter High Wheelers came calling.

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And here he is. Having the time of his life.

“He’s just having fun, and that’s what I love about it,” said Bess’s mother Jen Perez. “I just want him to have fun and hit some bombs.”

“It’s important to watch him play in [high school], college and when he started the pros 3 years ago,” said Bess’s grandfather Joe Silva, who graduated from Fruita Monument in 1965 and has been inducted into the FMHS and CHSAA Hall of Fames. “We follow everything, we follow everywhere he’s been because we’re so proud of him. It’s great to have him here. We’re proud of him and love him.”

In his first at-bat at Suplizio Field since high school, Bess hit a 2-RBI double. For the game as a whole, Bess raked in seven runs while going 4-for-7 at the plate, including two home runs. Bess and the High Wheelers dominated the Jackalopes 31-4.

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“It’s kinda just like riding a bike, you know,” Bess said. “I’m back out here, I’m at home and I’m playing the game I love.”

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