Kennesaw State Owls baseball
 |
| Kennesaw State Owls | |
|---|---|
 2024 Kennesaw State Owls baseball team | |
 | |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Overall record | 419–393 |
| University | Kennesaw State University |
| Head coach | Ryan Coe (3rd season) |
| Conference | Conference USA |
| Location | Kennesaw, Georgia |
| Home stadium | Fred Stillwell Stadium (Capacity: 900) |
| Nickname | Owls |
| Colors | Black and gold[1] |
| NCAA regional champions | |
| 2014 | |
| NCAA Tournament appearances | |
| 2014, 2022 | |
| Conference tournament champions | |
| 2014, 2022 | |
| Regular season conference champions | |
| 2016 | |
The Kennesaw State Owls baseball team represents Kennesaw State University, which is located in Kennesaw, Georgia. The Owls are an NCAA Division I college baseball program that competes in Conference USA. They began competing in Division I in 2006, joining Conference USA in 2024.
The Kennesaw State Owls play all home games on campus at Fred Stillwell Stadium. Under the direction of Head Coach Mike Sansing, the Owls have played in one NCAA tournament. Over their fifteen seasons in the ASUN Conference, they have won one ASUN regular season title and two ASUN tournaments.
Since the program's inception in 1984, eight Owls have gone on to play in Major League Baseball, highlighted by 2005 World Series champion Willie Harris. Over the program's 37 seasons, 55 Owls have been drafted, including Max Pentecost and Chad Jenkins who were selected in the first round of the 2014 and 2009 drafts, respectively.
Before joining the NCAA in 1994, the Owls additionally won the NAIA World Series in 1994.
Conference membership history (Division I only)
[edit]- 2006–2024: ASUN Conference
- 2024-present: Conference USA
Fred Stillwell Stadium
[edit]Fred Stillwell Stadium is a baseball stadium on the Kennesaw State campus in Kennesaw, Georgia, that seats 900 people. It opened in 1984. A record attendance of 1,314 was set on April 3, 2012 in a game against Georgia Tech.[2]
Head coaches (Division I only)
[edit]Records taken from the 2020 KSU baseball record book.[3]
| Season | Coach | Years | Record | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–2021 | Mike Sansing | 15 | 419–393 | .516 |
| 2022–present | Ryan Coe | 1 | 36–28 | .562 |
| Totals | 2 coaches | 16 seasons | 455–421 | .519 |
Year-by-year NCAA Division I results
[edit]Records taken from the 2020 KSU baseball record book.[3]
| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Sun Conference (2006–present) | |||||||||
| 2006 | Mike Sansing | 24–32 | 12–18 | T-8th | |||||
| 2007 | Mike Sansing | 32–23 | 13–14 | T-5th | |||||
| 2008 | Mike Sansing | 30–26 | 21–12 | 2nd | |||||
| 2009 | Mike Sansing | 30–22 | 20–9 | 2nd | |||||
| 2010 | Mike Sansing | 23–32 | 12–15 | 8th | |||||
| 2011 | Mike Sansing | 32–25 | 18–11 | 3rd | ASUN tournament | ||||
| 2012 | Mike Sansing | 34–25 | 15–11 | 3rd | ASUN tournament | ||||
| 2013 | Mike Sansing | 30–30 | 13–14 | T-6th | ASUN tournament | ||||
| 2014 | Mike Sansing | 40–24 | 17–9 | 3rd | ASUN tournament Louisville Super Regional | ||||
| 2015 | Mike Sansing | 28–28 | 10–10 | 6th | ASUN tournament | ||||
| 2016 | Mike Sansing | 29–27 | 17–4 | 1st | ASUN tournament | ||||
| 2017 | Mike Sansing | 25–32 | 10–11 | 5th | ASUN tournament | ||||
| 2018 | Mike Sansing | 25–30 | 11–10 | 3rd | ASUN tournament | ||||
| 2019 | Mike Sansing | 27–29 | 11–13 | 7th | |||||
| 2020 | Mike Sansing | 10–8 | 0-0 | N/A | Season canceled on March 12 due to Coronavirus pandemic[4] | ||||
| 2021 | Mike Sansing | 29-22 | 13-8 | 2nd (East) | ASUN tournament | ||||
| 2022 | Ryan Coe | 36-28 | 19-11 | 1st (East) | ASUN tournament Hattiesburg Regional | ||||
| Total: | 455–421 | ||||||||
| National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
NCAA Division I Tournament history
[edit]- The NCAA Division I baseball tournament started in 1947.
- The format of the tournament has changed through the years.
- Kennesaw State began playing Division I baseball in 2006.
| Year | Record | Pct | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 3–3 | .500 | Eliminated by Louisville in Louisville Super Regional |
| 2022 | 1–2 | .333 | Eliminated by Southern Miss in Hattiesburg Regional |
| Totals | 4–5 | .444 |
Awards and honors (Division I only)
[edit]- Over their 15 seasons in Division I, two Owls have been named to an NCAA-recognized All-America team.
- Over their 15 seasons in the ASUN Conference, 18 different Owls have been named to the all-conference first-team.
Johnny Bench/Buster Posey Award
[edit]| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 2014 | Max Pentecost |
All-Americans
[edit]| Year | Position | Name | Team | Selector |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | P | Chad Jenkins | 3rd | CB |
| 2014 | C | Max Pentecost | 1st | ABCA |
| BA | ||||
| CB | ||||
| NCBWA | ||||
| 2022 | OF | Josh Hatcher | 3rd | CB |
Freshman All-Americans
[edit]| Year | Position | Name | Selector |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | SS | Kal Simmons | CB |
| 2015 | DH | Taylor Allum | CB |
| 2016 | SS | David Chabut | CB |
| 2018 | 3B | Tyler Simon | CB |
| 2022 | 1B | Donovan Cash | CB, NCBWA |
ASUN Conference Player of the Year
[edit]| Year | Position | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | C | Max Pentecost |
ASUN Conference Defensive Player of the Year
[edit]| Year | Position | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2B | Grant Williams |
ASUN Conference Pitcher of the Year
[edit]| Year | Handedness | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Right | Chad Jenkins |
ASUN Conference Coach of the Year
[edit]| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Mike Sansing |
ASUN Conference Freshman of the Year
[edit]| Year | Position | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1B | Donovan Cash |
Taken from the 2020 KSU baseball record book.[3] Updated March 15, 2020.
Owls in the Major Leagues
[edit]| = All-Star | = Baseball Hall of Famer |
| Athlete | Years in MLB | MLB Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Willie Harris | 2001–2012 | Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds |
| Brian Mallette | 2002 | Milwaukee Brewers |
| Jason Jones | 2003 | Texas Rangers |
| Jason Childers | 2006 | Tampa Bay Devil Rays |
| Brett Campbell | 2006 | Washington Nationals |
| Chad Jenkins | 2012–2015 | Toronto Blue Jays |
| Justin Freeman | 2013 | Cincinnati Reds |
| Alan Busenitz | 2017–2018, 2023 | Minnesota Twins, Cincinnati Reds |
| Richard Lovelady | 2019–2023 | Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics |
| Travis Bergen | 2019–2021 | San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks |
Taken from the KSU MLB draft history.[5] Updated November 22, 2023.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Kennesaw State University Athletics Style Guide (PDF). December 9, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
- ^ "Stillwell Stadium". Retrieved March 15, 2020.
- ^ a b c "KSU Baseball Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved March 15, 2020.
- ^ "ASUN Conference Cancels Intercollegiate Competitions for Remainder of Academic Year". 12 March 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
- ^ "Owls MLB Draft History". Retrieved March 15, 2020.