• The Kennesaw State University baseball program begins its 32nd season of varsity play in 2015 when the Owls take part in the Atlanta Classic for three games to open the season. Kennesaw State has an all-time record of 1,114-651-2 (.631) entering the season. The Owls, who began Division I play in 2006, have an all-time record of 265-231 (.534) in eight years since joining the Atlantic Sun Conference – including Kennesaw State's first-ever D-I Championship in 2014.
• Head coach Mike Sansing enters his 24th season at the helm of the Black and Gold. Sansing holds a career mark of 885-464 (.656) as the manager of the Owls.
• Coach Sansing's strong leadership in the clubhouse has not gone unnoticed, leading multiple players to Atlantic Sun Conference honors and beyond. Most recently, coach Sansing led Max Pentecost to the Johnny Bench Award and a First Team All-American selection.
• Sansing's three assistant coaches return for another season with the Owls in 2015. Kevin Erminio enters his ninth season as the assistant head coach and pitching coach, while Derek Simmons and Trey Fowler each return for their third season under Sansing. Assistant athletic trainer Chris Archambeault also returns to the Black and Gold's bench for his eighth season.
• KSU's 2015 roster features five seniors and eight juniors entering the season. Justin Motley, Colin Bennett, Nathan Harsh, Benjamin Bancroft and Will Solomon are the Owls' five seniors.
• The Black and Gold's dugout will also feature 11 newcomers – seven pitchers and four position players. The Owls will look to solidify the backend of the bullpen after losing MLB Draft Selections Justin McCalvin (16 saves) and James Connell (2.49 ERA, 7-4), as well as replacing All-American and Johnny Bench Award winner Max Pentecost (.422, 61 RBI, 113 hits).
• The Black and Gold will feature two captains for the 2015 season. Redshirt-senior Chris McGowan and junior LHP Travis Bergen will lead the Owls selected by the team to serve as captains.
 
Around The Bases
• Kennesaw State played well in front of its home fans at Stillwell Stadium, accumulating a 19-11 record on their home grass in 2014. The Owls totaled 15,680 fans for the entire season.
• The Owls faired well when scoring at least nine runs in a single game, going 18-1 in 2014 when crossing home plate at least nine times in a game. In fact, the Owls averaged 6.0 runs per game and 5.87 RPG at Stillwell Stadium.
• Defense will also need to play a key role to the Owls' success in 2015. Kennesaw State went 8-5 last season when not committing an error and a 15-4 mark when committing just one error.
•  The Owls finished third in the nation last season in hits, totaling 677 in 64 games in 2014.
•  In fact, the Owls' 64 games played in 2014 set a Kennesaw State record for most games played in a single season.
• KSU's .298 team batting average in 2014 ranked 18th in the nation a season ago, lead by Johnny Bench Award winner Max Pentecost's .422 BA,
 
Previewing The Weekend
• The Owls will welcome three different teams to Stillwell Stadium over the weekend, opening up its 2015 season with a trio of non-conference affairs. The Black and Gold will showcase their 2015 roster against three teams that never has played at Stillwell Stadium since Kennesaw State turned D-I in 2006.  
Liberty, who enters the season ranked No. 25 in the Baseball America poll, enters the 2015 season with high expectations under head coach Jim Toman. The Flames were picked to finish first in the Big South Conference following a 41-win season in 2014.
• Liberty received eight first-place votes and garnered 116 points in being tabbed atop of the league.
• In addition, Alex Close was selected as the Big South Preseason Player of the Year. Close, who is entering his senior season, is ninth in program history with 26 career home runs. In fact, Close has hit .288 with 120 RBI in three seasons for the Flames.
• The meeting between Liberty and Kennesaw State will mark the first-ever top 25 matchup at Stillwell Stadium since turning D-I in 2006.
•  Liberty will enter Friday's game holding a 3-0 all-time mark against the Owls , dating back to when the Black and Gold turned D-I in 2006.   
 • St John's, who will take on the Owls on Saturday at 2 p.m., will also enter the 2015 season with high expectations. The Red Storm were tabbed as the Big East favorites, receiving a league-high three first place votes and totaled 32 points in the poll.
• The Red Storm also will showcase a league-leading six Preseason All-Big East selections and an overall group of 22 returning letterwinners.
• Michael Donadio, Joe Kuzia and Ryan McCormick were each unanimous Preseason All-Big East selections, while Alex Caruso, Robbie Knightes and Zach Lauricella were the other three Red Storm players to receive honors.
• The matchup will feature the first-ever meeting between the Owls and Red Storm since KSU turned D-I in 2006.
• Fordham will enter the 2015 season with a pair of Rams receiving preseason accolades from College Sports Madness. Juniors Joseph Runco and Brett Kennedy were named to the Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team.
• Runo earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors from the league as well as All-Academic Team, while leading the conference with 23 stolen bases. Runo also led the Rams in runs scored with 35 to go with a .298 overall batting average and 25 RBI.
• Kennedy was the Rams' top pitcher on the bump a season ago, totaling a 3.36 ERA, six wins, two complete game in 14 starts –all of which led the Rams. In all, Kennedy posted a 6-3 record and 53 strikeouts in 54.1 innings.
•  The matchup will feature the first-ever meeting between the Owls and Rams since KSU turned D-I in 2006.
 
Notable Owl Accolades
• The Kennesaw State baseball team will enter the 2015 season having won 26 of their last 29 games of the season.
• The Black and Gold won a school record 40 wins in 2014 coming off their unprecedented postseason run to the NCAA Super Regionals.
• The Owls also played a D-I school record 64 games in 2014. KSU also posted a program's record of 16 consecutive games won from April 6-May 1 of 2014.
• KSU won the first-ever D-I Championship in school's history last season, defeating Lipscomb 7-1 in the Atlantic Sun Championship to secure the title.
ª Kennesaw State also made history last season becoming the second team in A-Sun history to reach the NCAA Super Regionals after capturing the A-Sun Championship followed by the Tallahassee Regional with wins vs. Alabama and Georgia Southern. Entering the Super Regional vs. Louisville, KSU won 26 of their previous 28 games.
 
Owls In The MLB
 • KSU totaled four players – Max Pentecost, Bo Way, Justin McCalvin and James Connell— that were selected in the 2014 MLB Draft.
• It marked the seventh consecutive year at least one Owl was selected in the MLB Draft, with three years (2009, 2013 and 2014) four Owls were selected.
• Max Pentecost, who was honored as First Team All-American and Johnny Bench Award winner in 2014, was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round (11th overall), which marks the highest selection in Owl history.
 
Hillyer Named Opening Day Starter
• Down the stretch in 2014, right-handed pitcher Jordan Hillyer solidified his role into the ace of the pitching staff for head coach Mike Sansing and the Owls. Overall, Hillyer went 7-3 with a 3.48 earned run average (ERA). He logged a team-high 101.0 innings pitched on the year while holding opponents to a .258 average against.
 
Liquori Back For More
• Kennesaw State junior outfielder Alex Liquori was named a second team preseason All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), announced on Feb. 3, 2015.
• The junior returns to the lineup as the Owls' leading hitter after playing 51 games and producing a .354 average with 13 doubles, a team-leading five triples, one home run, 42 RBI and 37 runs scored in 2014.
• Liquori also was named to the Atlantic Sun Conference preseason All-Conference team, announced on Jan. 28, 2015
 
Bergen Returns To The Bump
• Junior Travis Bergen will return for his third season on the mound for the Owls. The left- hander who hails form McDonough, Georgia will play a key role in KSU's rotation on the weekend.
• Bergen was named to the Atlantic Sun Conference preseason All-Conference after compiling a 9-5 record with a 2.89 ERA in 2014. Bergen also had one of the best strikeouts-to-walk ratios in the country, striking out 78 batters while issuing just 15 free passes.
 
Familiar Face At Shortstop
• Kal Simmons, who hails from Nashville, Georgia, retunes to the lineup for Kennesaw State following an impressive sophomore season in 2014.
• Simmons, who earned Second Team All-Conference honors last season, started 62 games for the Owls at shortstop. He batted .272 while collecting 73 hits and 26 RBI on the season.
 
New Owls On Board
• Kennesaw State baseball will once again have a new look in 2015, as 11 of the 33 players (33%) on the roster are newcomers. The Owls lost key players at the top of their lineup and in the backend of the bullpen from 2014, and coach Sansing will look to his returning upperclassmen for leadership.
• Seven new arms will look to help the Owls return to postseason form that posted a 3.47 ERA as a staff in 2014, logging 587.0 innings on the bump and 469 strikeouts. Key losses from 2014 are Justin McCalvin (Tampa Bay Rays, 19th-577) and James Connell  (Los Angeles Angels, 26th-779), as each combined for 12 wins and 18 saves on the season.
• The Black and Gold will also showcase four new position players, as coach Sansing will look to replace Max Pentecost (Toronto Blue Jay, 1st-11) and Bo Way (Los Angeles Angels, 7th-209) at the top of the lineup.
 
Owls Picked First In Atlantic Sun
• Kennesaw State was picked to finish first in the A-Sun in the preseason coaches' poll, voted by the league's eight head coaches. The Owls received 61 points and six of eight first-place votes.
• The preseason A-Sun coaches' selection, which projected the Owls to finish first in the league, was the first time the Black and Gold were selected to finish at the top of the league since joining the conference in 2006.
 
Preseason Polls
• Kennesaw State enters the 2015 season ranked No. 19 in the Baseball America poll (Jan. 26, 2015). It marks the first time in program history the Owls are ranked in preseason polls since becoming D-I in 2006 .
• The Owls will open the 2015 season ranked No. 27 in the preseason Collegiate Baseball Division I poll following an unprecedented run to the NCAA Super Regional a year ago.
• KSU also appeared in the Perfect Game Top-25 Preseason Poll, entering the season ranked No. 24. The Owls joined UC Santa Barbara (18) and Cal State Fullerton (19) as the only mid-major programs in the preseason poll.

Promotions
• Vaugh Williams will throw out the first pitch for the Owls' 2015 season, marking the first game since reaching the NCAA Super Regionals in 2014. 
Follow The Owls On Social Media
• To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State baseball news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsBaseball or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.
• Use KSU's official hashtags GoKSUOwls and NoDoubt to follow all the action as the Owls look to defend their 2014 A-Sun Championship.
• Want to see more behind the scenes stuff with the baseball team? Tweet at use with your ideas for the upcoming season!
Tweets by @KSUOwlsBaseball

Owl Baseball Ticket Information
• Season tickets are on sale for the full 29-home game schedule at $39, a savings of over
$100.
• Single game tickets are also available for $6 for adults and $4 for youth (ages 3-12). Group
tickets for groups of 10 or more are available for advanced purchase, excluding the Georgia
(2-17)
• Georgia Tech (3-17), and Georgia Southern (3-24) games  where individual tickets will be
 $10 for adults and $6 for youth. To order season tickets click here , or contact the KSU
 Athletic Ticket Office at 470-578-OWLS (6957).

Season tickets are currently on sale for the full 29-game home schedule at $39 per ticket. Single-game tickets are also available at $6 for adults and $4 for youth (ages 3-12). Group tickets for 10 or more people are available for advanced purchase, excluding the Georgia (Feb. 17), Georgia Tech (Mar. 17) and Georgia Southern (Mar. 24) games when individual tickets will be $10 for adults and $6 for youth. To order season tickets click here, or contact the KSU Athletic Ticket Office at 470-578-OWLS (6957).
 
To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State baseball news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsBaseball or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.