KENNESAW, Ga. – In the 38 years of the Kennesaw State baseball program's existence, head coach Mike Sansing was at the helm for 30 of them. With the acclaimed coach announcing his retirement, Sansing ends a unique and unforgettable run of achievements that spans five different decades.
An 11-time Coach of the Year selection, including two National Coach of the Year awards, Sansing shuts the door on a remarkable career in which he mentored 22 All-Americans, 12 conference players of the year, 69 MLB draft selections and countless all-conference honorees. While at KSU he has led the Owls to two National Championships and a berth in the 2014 NCAA Super Regionals. A 2009 inductee into the prestigious Georgia Dugout Club Baseball Hall of Fame, Sansing finishes his career with an overall record of 1,158-693.
After beginning his head coaching career at Shorter College, where he compiled a 102-55 record in three seasons, Sansing joined the KSU family in the fall of 1991. It was less than three years later when he brought home the first National Championship in the university's history, defeating top-ranked Southeastern Oklahoma for the NAIA title in 1994.
The milestone facilitated a move into NCAA Division II baseball for Sansing and the Owls the following season, where they would go on to capture another National Championship in just their second year in DII. After nine Regional appearances, four World Series qualifications, four Peach Belt Conference regular season championships and three PBC tournament championships, the Owls were named the "Best Division II Program of the 1990's" by Baseball America.
With a 487-176 record at the DII level, Sansing once again took KSU to even greener pastures, joining the ASUN and Division I baseball in 2006. The new environment didn't prevent the skipper from finding success at higher levels, finishing second in the league in his third and fourth seasons. The Owls won their first ASUN Championship in 2014, punching their ticket to the NCAA Division I Regionals in Tallahassee, Fla. The team made history by winning the Regional over Alabama, Georgia Southern and No. 5 Florida State to advance to the first and only NCAA Division I Super Regional in Kennesaw State's record books.
69 different players have made it into professional baseball under the tutelage of Coach Sansing, with the potential for more in the current ranks of the Kennesaw State Owls. Notable Owls in the MLB include: current Toronto Blue Jay Travis Bergen; the first-ever Owl in Major League Baseball and 2005 World Series champion Willie Harris; the earliest first round picks out of Kennesaw State came in 2009 with Chad Jenkins and Kyle Heckathorn; catcher Max Pentecost, who was picked in the first round with the 11th overall pick by the Blue Jays for the highest drafting of an Owl in program history.
In March of 2015 the manager earned his 1000th career win defeating USC Upstate 5-0 before going on to record his 1000th win as an Owl in March of 2019. With a final career record of 1,158-693, Sansing ends his tenure as the sixth-ranked winningest active coach in Division I baseball.
His individual accolades speak for themselves, as the Georgia Dugout Club has named Sansing their Coach of the Year four times before inducting him into their Hall of Fame. Despite the 20 individual coaching awards he has accrued over the years, the longtime Owl attributes his success to everyone around him.
"Words can't accurately describe the amount of gratitude I feel toward Kennesaw State University for 30 years of unbelievable memories," Sansing said. "Firstly, I want to thank my family for their love, their support and their patience. Their dedication to Kennesaw State over the course of the last 30 years runs just as deep as mine. I have had so many amazing coaches by my side and they've gone on to have tremendous careers for themselves in college and the pros. I want to thank all of them for helping us build what we left here at KSU. Without Dr. Dave Waples and Scott Whitlock, I wouldn't be here at KSU. They believed in me and what we could do for the program and I can't thank them enough for being great friends and great supporters. Milton Overton has always displayed a passion for our baseball program and I am so grateful for everything he's done for us. Lastly, I want to thank all the players that I have had the incredible honor of coaching. It's great players that make great coaches and I'll never forget all of the top-notch people that committed their time to Kennesaw State and made it feel like such a family for all these years."
"Coach Sansing invested his career preparing KSU student-athletes for success in life and building the 'Gold Standard' foundation of our baseball program," said Kennesaw State Director of Athletics Milton Overton. "Great coaches win championships and Hall of Fame coaches like Mike Sansing have the capacity to do so at multiple levels with a student-centered focus aligned with the core values of the institution. Class, integrity, and a championship spirit are the key qualities applied to Coach Sansing's legacy at KSU and are the top characteristics we are looking for in our next skipper."
The search for the new head coach of the Kennesaw State baseball team will begin immediately.
To keep up with the latest on the Kennesaw State baseball team, follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsBaseball or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.
