Cole Coonrod is a 6'5", 243-pound tight end from Manhattan, Kansas, who graduated from Manhattan High School in 2023 after playing football and basketball. He attended Hutchinson Community College, where he did not play during his freshman and redshirt freshman years. In 2025, Coonrod appeared in eight games for the Jayhawk Conference champion Blue Dragons, earning honorable mention all-conference honors as a blocking tight end. Hutchinson finished 11-1, with its only loss coming against Iowa Western CC in the NJCAA national championship game. Coonrod now joins Ball State as a returning player for the 2026 season.