Long before he became Kennesaw State baseball’s Director of Analytics, Jackson Abernathy was a high school pitcher trying to make sense of a flood of TrackMan data, so he built something to simplify it.

At both the collegiate and professional level, baseball teams rely heavily on TrackMan, a radar-based system that provides players with tools to improve performance by tracking metrics such as ball trajectory, spin rate, pitch velocity, movement, exit velocity and launch angle. While valuable, the sheer volume of data can quickly become overwhelming.

So, Abernathy, a former right-handed pitcher for the Owls, found a way to simplify it.

Introduced to TrackMan data by friends as a sophomore in high school, he quickly became fascinated with the analytical side of the game.

“I have always been a math guy. I have always liked numbers, and I thought, ‘Hey, numbers and my favorite sport—that is a perfect fit. I have to dig into this,’” Abernathy said.

With no prior coding experience, Abernathy turned to the internet. Using YouTube and publicly available code, he began teaching himself the fundamentals of programming. Platforms like GitHub allowed him to study others’ work, understand how different sections of code connected, and start piecing things together.

By his junior and senior years, he had learned the basics of Excel and began inputting statistics for MLB pitchers, continuing to build his foundation in data analysis.

When Abernathy arrived at Kennesaw State as a freshman, he was determined not to feel behind. He continued studying TrackMan data, watching videos, and seeking out conversations to deepen his understanding.

That summer, he took the next step.

Abernathy committed to teaching himself how to code. Over the course of six to seven months, he learned how to properly code pitching data, building his skills from the ground up. He credits some of his familiarity with Excel to his father, whose work helped shape his early exposure to data tools.

Now, Abernathy is fluent in Python, a programming language widely used in data science.

“He’s integrated in the way that baseball is going right now, which is TrackMan and data-driven and computer programming driven,” said Kennesaw State pitching coach Matthew Passauer. “He is incredibly advanced in those things and understands those parts of the game.”

The journey, however, has not been easy.

Abernathy says consistency and discipline have been the most challenging aspects of his development.

“If I can't even overcome these smaller challenges, how am I going to overcome the more tedious work down the line?” Abernathy said. “You have to take it day by day and learn a little each day. If I could learn one chunk of code, that is a successful day, and you just keep building off of that.”

Before the creation of his app, the team worked through long sheets of raw data that could be difficult to interpret. Coaches attempted to organize it by pitch type but it remained cumbersome.

Abernathy’s app changed that.

Designed to make information accessible and user-friendly, the platform allows players and coaches to filter data by individual pitchers and select specific date ranges—all through a simple link.

The first time he used it, the moment stood out.

“It was so nice,” Abernathy said. “The entire process is trial and error. The first time I actually hit that link and it opened up, it was fantastic. Right away, I was back to that ‘what can I improve’ mentality. Now that I had this base blueprint, I wanted to add more stuff and make it even easier to understand.”

A junior business major, Abernathy hopes to turn his passion into a career at the professional level.

“I hope to either have something in the front office or something with a big league team,” he said. “It is double trouble. I can help our team perform and help us win games, while also adding another tool to my box post-baseball career.”

This summer, Abernathy will add another tool to his box as he serves as the Director of Pitching Development and Assistant Pitching Coach for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Passauer believes Abernathy’s work speaks for itself.

“I think that Jackson accomplished something incredible,” Passauer said. “You can do these types of things in the world now - learning computer programming through YouTube videos - and having a simple care factor, which in itself is extremely impressive. His knowledge of baseball is incredibly high. If he sees something that intrigues him, he’s not going to stop there. He’s going to figure out why it happened and how to make it happen.”

Though his playing career ended early, Abernathy remains deeply involved with the team. Now serving as Director of Analytics, he continues to impact the program through both his technical expertise and presence in the dugout.

On a daily basis, Abernathy builds and implements systems that help players and coaches better understand and communicate data. His role bridges the gap between complex analytics and on-field performance.

The transition from player to staff member has been seamless.

“It has been easy because those relationships were already established,” Abernathy said. “There wasn’t any awkward ground of trying to gain trust. It was an overall smooth transition to being off the field.”

On game days, Abernathy works closely with Passauer, discussing detailed strategy, identifying potential external factors, and helping shape pitching plans and bullpen usage.

His combination of baseball knowledge and analytical expertise has made him an invaluable asset to the program.

Passauer says the ultimate goal for any player is to find something they love and pursue it for as long as possible. For Abernathy, that passion remains rooted in baseball, just from a different angle.

Now, instead of throwing pitches, he’s helping shape them, using data, code, and a relentless curiosity to give Kennesaw State an edge.

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