• First Year of Competition: 1985
  • First Year of Fast Pitch: 1991
  • Head Coach: Scott Whitlock (1995 NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year)
  • Associate Head Coach: Wes Holly, Jr.
  • Assistant Coach: Leigh Wintter
  • National Championships: 2 (1995 and 1996- NCAA Division II)
  • National Players of the Year: 2 (Kelly Rafter- 1995; Audra Thomas- 2000)
  • All-Americans: 47
  • A-Sun Players of the Year: 1
  • A-Sun Pitchers of the Year: 1
  • A-Sun Freshmen of the Year: 1
  • A-Sun Coach of the Year: 3
  • A-Sun All-Conference Honorees: 24
  • A-Sun Player of the Week Awards: 7
  • A-Sun Pitcher of the Week Awards: 14
  • A-Sun All-Academic Honors: 82
  • All A-Sun: 22
  • A-Sun All-Freshman: 8
  • 2012 A-Sun Player of the Year: Jessica Cross

When you think of Kennesaw State Owls athletics, and you think history and tradition, it is hard not to think of Owls softball. Since their first season as a slow pitch outfit in 1985 through the end of the 2011 season, the Black and Gold have compiled a record of 1157-285, a winning percentage of .803, and along the way have won two NCAA national championships and made a dozen Women’s College World Series appearances.

Synonymous with Owls softball and their success is the backbone of the program in head coach Scott Whitlock. Entering his 26th year at the helm of the Black and Gold, Whitlock joined the program as an assistant coach prior to the 1986 season, took the reins the following year, and a landmark program was born.

Ranking in the top-30 all-time in fastpitch victories at the collegiate level, Whitlock and his Owls are not satisfied, and are growing at a fast pace that has already brought them to Division I prominence. Winning the 2007 Atlantic Sun Conference regular season in their second season in the league is just a start to what is being built at the highest level of college softball. The Black and Gold have competed with some of the biggest names in college athletics, having defeated programs from five out of six power conferences.

Always keeping a strong link to their history while looking towards the future, their home field, Bailey Park, has experienced major renovations and additions over the past several years, with an indoor practice facility, a hospitality suite, and a state-of-the-art athletic training center just a few of the features that make it one of the finest softball facilities in the south. Yet, despite all of the changes to Bailey Park, the field is still the same one that has been used since the program’s inception. Coach Whitlock is proud of the fact that, after all these years and all of the innovations made to the program, every single player that has worn an Owls softball uniform has stood at the same home plate.

With Owls softball, the past is something we take pride in, and we do it with a strong eye on the future.