KENNESAW STATE ATHLETICS ANNUAL REPORT

2024 - 2025

By Kennesaw State University

October 14^th, 2025

STRONG IN THE CLASSROOM

The 2024-25 season marked another extremely successful year in the classroom for Kennesaw State student-athletes. A total of 77 Owls proudly walked across the stage this year and earned their degrees from KSU.

Fall 2024 produced 300 Top Flight Owls, with 63% of our student-athletes receiving a 3.0 GPA or higher. In Spring 2025, 290 earned this distinction.

Thirteen student-athletes achieved CSC Academic All-District honors this year with 10 earning CUSA All-Academic team nods. In addition, 289 were named to the CUSA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and 105 earned a CUSA Medal of Honor.

There were 156 total Presidential Scholar awards earned by our student-athletes in 2024-25, and in the fall, 192 student-athletes made the Dean’s List, the highest to date for a single semester.

STRONG IN THE GAME

In our first year in Conference USA, men’s track ended Liberty’s 27-year run of indoor track titles with KSU’s first CUSA trophy. The men’s outdoor squad added to that with the department’s second CUSA crown in the spring. The 2024-25 academic year provided hard-earned milestones for our programs with national prominence thanks to increased viewership and attendance.

This year also saw KSU football upend undefeated Liberty at Fifth Third Stadium, achieving the program’s first FBS win on national television. Men’s basketball achieved a benchmark of their own, defeating No. 24 Rutgers on CBS Sports Network and earning the first ranked victory in the history of Owl Hoops. Our men’s hoops team continues to answer the call and is undefeated in sellout games inside the KSU Convocation Center.

Men’s golfer Claes Borregaard won Conference USA Player of the Year en route to the 2025 NCAA Men’s Golf Championships, becoming the first in program history to achieve both. Men’s basketball’s Adrian Wooley was named CUSA Freshman of the Year and was also named to the All-CUSA First Team.

Luca Gallingani joined him as the CUSA Men’s Golf Freshman of the Year. Kennesaw State had 11 total student-athletes earn All-CUSA First Team selections, including Prencis Harden (women’s basketball), Manu Johnsen (volleyball), Donovan Cash and Bo Rhudy (baseball), Jacob Ulrich and Qua Ashley (football), Ema Baraniakova and Sofia Madrid (women’s tennis), Anthony Weingarten and Mikolaj Lis (men’s tennis).

Chance Cross, Kali Tezra and Emma Sullivan from KSU track and field also punched their ticket to the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. where they all achieved All-American honors.

KSU alumni Daniel Haugh added to his stellar resume, earning his fourth weight throw title at the 2024 USA Track and Field Indoor Championships in February. A pair of KSU head coaches also achieved milestones, as volleyball’s leader Keith Schunzel reached 200-career victories and Owl baseball’s Ryan Coe earned his 100th win.

HALL OF FAME

COMMUNITY IMPACT

This past December, KSU Athletics and University President Dr. Kathy Schwaig were pleased to announce the hiring of Jerry Mack as the second head coach of Kennesaw State Football. An introductory press conference was held at the KSU Convocation Center with a donor reception as Owl Nation helped welcome the new leader of KSU football. Kennesaw State is proud to have Mack and his family at KSU and are excited to watch the program succeed under his guidance.

KSU Athletics and the Kennesaw State Alumni Association partnered up to host two incredible KSU Nights this summer in Marietta and Acworth. Open to all alumni, fans and friends, attendees heard from Director of Athletics Milton Overton, head football coach Jerry Mack, head men’s basketball coach Antoine Pettway and head women’s basketball coach Octavia Blue. Nearly 200 supporters showed up to the two events to connect and engage.

Ema Baraniakova was named a Conference USA Spirit of Service Award recipient in June. This award honors student-athletes with significant community service endeavors. She completed 19.5 hours of community service and volunteering this year while boasting a 9-4 record in singles action and 11-2 in doubles. Baraniakova was named to All-CUSA First Team this season.

Additionally, a group of 14 student-athletes completed a year-long AthLeaders program, where they learned the key principles of effective leadership in collaboration with Chick-fil-A Operator Chris Darley.

The KSU Owl Network continued its success in 2024-25 as the Owls joined Conference USA. With 95 total broadcasts on ESPN+ and KSUOwls.com, the Owl Network was key in the growth of the Kennesaw State brand as the Black and Gold were seen in new markets this year.

The Owl Network earned seven Sports Video Group finalist honors and two from College Sports Communicators, showcasing the hard work from staff leadership and a large roster of talented students.

Also on display via the KSU Owl Network were 11 Owl Nation Live shows presented by BrandSmart USA, with most of the episodes broadcasted live from The Commons in the center of the Kennesaw Campus.

Kennesaw State Athletics continued its commitment to the Kennesaw and greater Cobb County area this year through community service and several engagement events. From Read Across America week to tennis’ annual Epilepsy Awareness Day, our student-athletes, coaches and teams enjoy giving back and supporting our fellow neighbor.

Kennesaw State found a refreshing way to promote school spirit, partnering with New Realm Brewing Company to create KSU's first licensed beer. OWL IN American Lager is available in shops and restaurants throughout the area, with KSU receiving a portion of the proceeds.

In its first year in the FBS and Conference USA, the Owls played five games in front of a national TV audience, including college football’s biggest upset of the year when KSU took down undefeated Liberty at Fifth Third Stadium.

The college football world took notice and played a big role in KSU’s over 40 million social media impressions across its accounts.

Capacity crowds witnessed historic moments throughout the year. KSU’s first home FBS game against Louisiana drew a record 11,040 fans to Fifth Third Stadium. Accounting for regular season home games, the season total of 54,071 and 9,012 average for fan attendance set benchmarks.

The previously mentioned win against top-25 Rutgers saw KSU match its sellout record with 3,805 fans inside the KSU Convocation Center. This season was highest attendance for men’s basketball for the season at 30,626 and average at 2,042 fans.

FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

In August, Wellstar and Kennesaw State announced a $25 million partnership extension to directly benefit and support the health, well-being, and performance of KSU student-athletes. As part of this collaboration, Wellstar has provided the lead funding commitment for a new state-of-the-art training and conditioning complex for student-athletes. A new center to support the physical and mental well-being of KSU student-athletes will also be created as part of this agreement.

Kennesaw State Athletics set a fundraising record in 2024-25, driven by increased sponsorship revenue — cash rose 6.9% and cash with offset climbed 9.4%. The Owls Fund raised over $1M, while major gifts totaled $8M. Athletics received a pivotal $5M gift from Dave and Donna Walens and surpassed its $30M Capital Campaign goal, contributing to the university's broader $200M campaign resulting in KSU Athletics achieving its strongest fundraising year ever.

This past November, it was announced that longtime Kennesaw State supporters Dave and Donna Walens pledged $4 million to KSU Athletics. The gift added to the Athletics Capital Campaign and helps fund state-of-the-art facilities to empower KSU to excel at the highest levels of competition in Conference USA.

As progress continues on Mickey Dunn Stadium, the project remains on track to host Kennesaw State baseball for its 2026 season.

Recently approved by the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents was a new turf field for the home of Owl baseball. The 131,000-square-foot high-quality synthetic turf includes upgrades to drainage as well as new foul poles and fencing.

Prior to the first competitions of the 2024-25 campaign, the KSU Convocation Center floor received a facelift to go along with the Owls new era in Conference USA and was on full display for two nationally televised men’s basketball games.

LOOKING FORWARD

As we look ahead to 2025-26 and beyond for Kennesaw State Athletics, the future brightens every day. Our men's indoor and outdoor track and field squads won the first two Conference USA titles in our department’s history. Volleyball, men’s basketball and baseball all reached the conference semifinals in their first year.

On July 1, we proudly joined Conference USA and saw incredible victories on campus with men’s basketball’s victory over No. 24 Rutgers and football’s first FBS win over previously unbeaten Liberty.

An exciting year is ahead as those semifinal teams return to competition as well as KSU football under the tutelage of head coach Jerry Mack – with six national television games on deck for the 2025 campaign, and KSU baseball enters a new chapter in its new home of Mickey Dunn Stadium.