The Kennesaw State Owls fields 16 varsity athletics teams, competing for Kennesaw State University. After spending ten years in Division II's Peach Belt Conference, the university fully transitioned to Division I status in the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the beginning of the 2009–10 season. All of Kennesaw State's sports teams competed in the Atlantic Sun Conference through the 2023–24 school year, except that football competed as an FCS independent in the 2023 season only. In July 2023, KSU started a transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision in advance of its move to Conference USA, which happened in 2024. Of its 18 varsity sports, only women's lacrosse is not sponsored by CUSA. The school mascot is Scrappy the Owl.
Kennesaw State's athletic department was founded in 1983, and initially offered nine sports: women's basketball, men's soccer, men's & women's cross country, and men's & women's track and field. The program first began competition in the Georgia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, part of the NAIA. In just 23 years, the school has transitioned to a full NCAA Division I program.
Conference affiliations NAIA The Owls have been affiliated to one athletic conference in their tenure within the NAIA, which is:
NAIA Independent (1982–1983) Georgia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1983–1994)
Notes
NCAA
Since joining the NCAA, the Owls have been affiliated to three athletic conferences in their history, they are: Peach Belt Conference (1994–2005) Atlantic Sun Conference (2005–2024) Conference USA (2024–present)
Notes
Sports sponsored Baseball Basketball Basketball Cross country Cross country Golf Football Lacrosse Golf Soccer Tennis Softball Track and field Tennis Track and field Volleyball
Baseball
In their short history, the Owls have had 32 players who have been drafted by MLB teams. Five of their alumni have reached the Major Leagues, including Jason Jones of the Texas Rangers, Chad Jenkins of the Toronto Blue Jays, Brett Campbell of the Washington Nationals, and Willie Harris, who earned a World Series ring with the Chicago White Sox in 2005, of the Cincinnati Reds. In 2014, Max Pentecost won the Johnny Bench Award as the best catcher in NCAA's Division I.
In 2009, six Kennesaw State players were selected in the MLB draft. Chad Jenkins was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays with their first round pick (20th overall). Kyle Heckathorn was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers with their supplemental first round pick at 47th overall. Jace Whitmer (Oakland Athletics), Kenny Faulk (Detroit Tigers), Tyler Stubblefield (Atlanta Braves), and Justin Edwards (Cincinnati Reds) were also selected by MLB teams.
NAIA era (1984–1994) Kennesaw State's baseball team began play in 1984 as an NAIA program. Jim Nash was the team's first head coach, and led them to a 30–20 record. In 1985, the Owls hired John Barrett to act as head coach. In his only year, he took the team all the way to the NAIA District 25 Tournament with a 31–24 record. The following year, the Owls again hired a new coach, this time tabbing Chip Reese to lead the way. Coach Reese was with the Owls for 5 seasons (1986–1990). During his tenure with the Owls, they competed in the NAIA District 25 Tournament four times, and carried an overall record of 145–126–2. Steve Givens was the next Owls head coach in 1991, and in his only season the team went 35–25 and made yet another appearance in the NAIA District 25 Tournament. Starting in 1992, the Owls gained some head coaching stability with the hiring of Mike Sansing. The Owls experienced an immediate improvement when Sansing was hired, and finished the 1992 season with a record of 39–19, and an appearance in the NAIA Tournament. The first major success for the program came in 1994, when the Owls completed the regular season with a then school-high record of 48 wins. They then proceeded to go undefeated throughout the entire postseason (12–0), beating Southeastern Oklahoma State University in the NAIA World Series final. Year Wins Losses Winning Percentage 1984 30 20 .600 1985 31 24 .564 1986 18 30 .375 1987 23 29 .442 1988 34 25 .576 1989 33 21 .611 1990 37 21 .638 1991 33 25 .569 1992 39 19 .672 1993 36 16 .692 1994 48 14 .774 Overall 362 244 .597
Division II era (1995–2005) In the year following their NAIA Championship, the Owls moved up to Division II, and joined the Peach Belt Conference. The Owls adjusted to the competition, and won their conference with a 19–4 record (43–14 overall). The Owls also made it to the NCAA South Atlantic Regional after winning the Peach Belt Tournament with a 5–0 record. After their success in 1995, they followed it in 1996. Instead of getting stalled during the NCAA South Atlantic Regional again, the Owls beat Columbus State three game to one, and moved on to the NCAA Division II World Series in Montgomery, Alabama. During the World Series, Kennesaw State defeated Southern Colorado 9–3, Adelphi 8–7, Delta State 3–1, and finally, defeated St. Joseph's 4–0 in the championship game. Following their 1996 National Championship, Kennesaw had additional postseason appearances from 1997 to 2005. From 1997 to 1999, the Owls made three straight appearances in the Division II World Series, losing each time in the finals or semi-finals. During the 2000–2005 seasons, Kennesaw State racked up 238–112 record, and made the postseason five more times, with an appearance in the Division II World Series in 2003. Year Wins Losses Winning Percentage 1995 43 14 .754 1996 48 17 .738 1997 48 14 .774 1998 61 5 .924 1999 49 14 .778 2000 38 20 .655 2001 45 15 .750 2002 48 13 .787 2003 40 18 .690 2004 32 24 .571 2005 37 22 .627 Overall 489 176 .735
Division I era (2006–present) The program transitioned to Division I in 2006. They began play in the Atlantic Sun Conference, and during the mandatory four-year reclassification period, the Owls notched 116 wins, two second place conference finishes and had eight players selected in the Major League Baseball Draft. In the 2011 campaign, the Owls had a big win when they defeated No. 8 Georgia Tech at Stillwell Stadium in front of 1,142 fans. In 2012, the Owls had their most successful postseason campaign in Division I, making it all the way to the A-Sun Championship game against Belmont where they lost 10–4. In the 2013 season, the Owls made it to the Atlantic Sun Championship again and were defeated by East Tennessee State 7–2.
The 2014 season has been the best season for KSU baseball, by far. The Owls won their first A-Sun Championship in 2014 by beating Lipscomb 7–1. They then proceeded to their first NCAA Regional and won in Tallahassee. The Owls moved on to the Super Regional, but lost to Louisville in two games.
Year Wins Losses Winning Percentage Notes 2006 24 32 .429 2007 32 23 .582 2008 30 26 .536 2009 30 22 .577 2010 23 32 .418 2011 32 15 .681 2012 34 25 .576 2013 30 30 .500 2014 40 24 .625 2014 ASUN Conference Champions 2015 28 28 .500 2016 29 27 .518 2017 25 32 .439 2018 25 30 .455 2019 27 29 .482 2020 10 8 .556 Season canceled on March 12 due to Coronavirus pandemic 2021 29 22 .569 2022 36 28 .563 2022 ASUN Conference Champions Overall 455 421 .519
Men's basketball
NAIA era (1985–86 to 1993–94) Beginning in the 1985–86 season, the Kennesaw State Owls basketball teams began play as an NAIA team, competing in the GIAC conference. The Owls were led by head coach Phil Zenoni during their tenure in NAIA, where they compiled a 145–122 record.
Season Wins Losses Winning Percentage 1985–86 7 21 .250 1986–87 14 16 .467 1987–88 14 16 .467 1988–89 17 14 .548 1989–90 15 13 .536 1990–91 18 11 .621 1991–92 21 10 .677 1992–93 19 12 .613 1993–94 20 9 .690 Overall 145 122 .543
Division II era (1994–95 to 2004–05) Season Wins Losses Winning Percentage 1994–95 8 19 .296 1995–96 12 15 .444 1996–97 20 7 .741 1997–98 19 10 .655 1998–99 10 17 .370 1999–00 14 11 .560 2000–01 11 15 .423 2001–02 20 10 .667 2002–03 25 10 .714 2003–04 35 4 .897 2004–05 24 6 .800 Overall 198 124 .615
Division I era (2005–06 to present) The Kennesaw State Owls basketball teams currently play NCAA Division I basketball in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The team was formed in the Convocation Center on the campus of KSU. The teams previously played in the Spec Landrum Center, which served as the home floor when the men won the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2004.
On April 20, 2011, Kennesaw State University officials named Lewis Preston as the Owls' new men's basketball Head Coach.
Preston took a leave of absence in January 2014, citing personal and medical reasons. Preston was replaced by Jimmy Lallathin on an interim basis for the remainder of the 2013–14 season. In March 2014, Lallathin was promoted to permanent head coach. After going 10–22 in his only season in charge of the program, Lallathin was reassigned within the athletics department and eventually removed as head coach as the result of an internal investigation.
On April 26, 2015, Kennesaw State reached an agreement with former National Coach of the Year and Boston College head man, Al Skinner to be their sixth head coach in program history. Skinner led the Owls to an 11–20 record in his first season but went 7–7 in conference for the first .500 conference record in Kennesaw State Division I history.
On February 21, 2019, Skinner announced his resignation from Kennesaw State effective at the end of the season. He was replaced at the start of the 2019–20 season by Amir Abdur-Rahim. After a difficult first season, Abdur-Rahim eventually led Kennesaw to win the 2023 ASUN Conference tournament and a 14 seed in the NCAA tournament. Season Wins Losses Winning Percentage Conference record 2005–06 12 17 .414 2006–07 13 18 .419 10–8 2007–08 10 20 .333 7–7 2008–09 7 22 .241 2–16 2009–10 13 20 .394 7–13 2010–11 8 23 .258 6–14 2011–12 3 28 .097 0–18 2012–13 3 27 .111 2–16 2013–14 6 25 .194 3–15 2014–15 10 22 .312 4–10 2015–16 11 20 .355 7–7 2016–17 14 18 .438 7–7 2017–18 10 20 .333 6–8 2018–19 6 26 .188 3–13 2019–20 1 28 .034 0–16 2020–21 5 19 .208 2–13 2021–22 13 18 .419 7–9 2022–23 26 9 .743 15–3 Overall 145 371 .281
Women's basketball
The Kennesaw State Owls women's basketball team is led by second-year head coach and former Miami Hurricane Octavia Blue.
Season Wins Losses Winning Percentage 2005–06 5 22 .185 2006–07 13 16 .448 2007–08 16 12 .571 2008–09 15 14 .517 2009–10 11 19 .367 2010–11 9 21 .300 2011–12 14 17 .452 2012–13 7 24 .226 2013–14 6 24 .200 2014–15 17 13 .567 2015–16 11 19 .367 2016–17 10 20 .333 2017–18 7 19 .269 2018–19 9 22 .290 2019–20 13 16 .448 2020–21 7 12 .368 2021–22 9 19 .321 Overall 179 309 .367
Cross country Kennesaw State's men's cross country team is currently coached by David Poteet. In the 2009 season, the Owls finished first in five of their eight meets, including a first-place finish in their conference at the A-Sun Cross Country Championship. The men ended the 2009 season finishing eighth at the NCAA South Region Championship. The women's team finished first in four of their seven meets in the 2009 season. The women finished second in their conference at the A-Sun Cross Country Championship. The Cross Country team was also featured in an article of the September, 2010 issue of Running Times magazine.
In the 2010 season, the team made it, for the second straight year since being eligible for postseason competition, to the NCAA South Regional where they finished ninth.
Golf The Kennesaw State men's golf team opened its fall season in 2011 with the first round of the Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic to finish in 12th place.
Soccer