Cloverdale High School senior sports star Tehya Bird made it official in a signing ceremony on Nov. 14, inking a letter of intent to attend the University of Oregon next fall on an athletic scholarship.
Few incoming freshmen enter high school with the reputation and athletic credentials of Bird, who made an immediate impact her freshman year on Eagles’ varsity volleyball, basketball and softball teams. Along the way, she’s led her teams to multiple titles and has been a perennial all-leaguer in all three sports. In a sensational softball career, Bird has put up cartoon-like numbers in three sensational seasons at Cloverdale, earning her All-State recognition.
A three-sport varsity star throughout her high school career, Bird’s relationship with Oregon actually began in the summer of 2016, when, at the age of 14, she verbally committed to the university after being contacted by Ducks softball coach Mike White. A self-proclaimed Ducks fan since attending a softball camp run by White and assistant coach Chelsea Spencer at the age of 9, she didn’t hesitate in making a verbal commitment to attend Oregon following high school graduation in 2020.
Bird’s athletic ability comes naturally. Her mother Nikki Bird (formally Giannecchini) was an MVP pitcher at Ukiah High School in 1997 before going on to play for Mendocino Junior College. Father Damien Bird also enjoyed an MVP and All-Conference career at Mendocino in 1997-98, and was named to the Mendocino Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010.
The athletic family roots go even deeper. Grandmother Patti Bird was an All-State softball player and among the top hitters in California at Santa Rosa Junior College in 1980-81. She was inducted into the SRJC Hall of Fame in 2009. Grandfather Steve Giannecchini was an MVP baseball star at Ukiah in 1967 before going on to play for the University of San Francisco.
Bird is leaning toward a business major at Oregon.
