Kennesaw State Owls baseball


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.

Kennesaw State Owls
2024 Kennesaw State Owls baseball team
Founded1984
Overall record419–393
UniversityKennesaw State University
Head coachRyan Coe (3rd season)
ConferenceConference USA
LocationKennesaw, Georgia
Home stadiumFred Stillwell Stadium
(Capacity: 900)
NicknameOwls
ColorsBlack 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 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

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]

Statistics overview
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  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

NCAA Division I Tournament history

edit
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
  1. ^ Kennesaw State University Athletics Style Guide (PDF). December 9, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  2. ^ "Stillwell Stadium". Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "KSU Baseball Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  4. ^ "ASUN Conference Cancels Intercollegiate Competitions for Remainder of Academic Year". 12 March 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  5. ^ "Owls MLB Draft History". Retrieved March 15, 2020.