Austin Upshaw enters his second season as the team's Volunteer Assistant Coach in 2022-23. The Buford, Ga. native is a former Chicago Cubs minor league player and was a standout for the Kennesaw State baseball team.
Upshaw coached the infielders and assisted with the offense during Kennesaw State's 2022 ASUN Championship season. His first season saw the Owls break numerous program records including most home runs (70), runs batted in (408), total bases (1,035) and runs scored (455) in a season. The KSU offense also collected a .301 batting average and marked the second time in KSU history the team finished over .300 in this category.
The Owls placed four hitters on the All-ASUN Conference squad and had two earn All-American honors during the 2022 campaign. Upshaw also worked with third baseman Cash Young, who broke the school record for most home runs in a single season (17).
The former Owl returned to Kennesaw after spending the 2021 season at Bellarmine University, another ASUN conference program. There he served as the hitting and infield coach for the Knights' inaugural season in Division I baseball. In his year at Bellarmine, three of his position players were granted ASUN accolades. Josh Finerty was awarded first team All-ASUN, Matt Higgins earned second team honors, and Davis Crane was selected to the All-Freshman squad.
In 2019, after his playing days with the Cubs came to an end, Upshaw returned to Kennesaw State to complete his Bachelor’s Degree and serve the baseball team as a student assistant coach where he worked primarily with hitters and infielders. Kennesaw State finished 10-8 in the shortened 2020 season, but had several hitters lead the ASUN in hitting such as “Freshman All-American” Nick Hassan, “Most Impressive Hitter in the ASUN” Alex Carballo, and future Atlanta Braves draft pick Tyler Tolve.
From the summer of 2017-2019, Upshaw spent his time as an infielder in the Chicago Cubs organization. After being drafted 405th overall in the 13th round of the 2017 MLB Draft, he spent his first season in Low-A with the South Bend Cubs. In 2018, he was promoted to High-A Myrtle Beach, which was the highest level he would achieve. His career included 163 games with 657 plate appearances and 36 extra-base hits along the way.
Throughout 2016-2017, he spent his sophomore and junior year at Kennesaw State as a middle-of-the-lineup threat and first baseman. Over the span of two seasons, Upshaw played 109 games, hitting .339 with 15 homeruns, 30 doubles, 77 RBI, and 79 runs. He was a crucial part in the Owls winning the 2016 ASUN Conference Championship, where the team went 17-4 in conference play. A few awards he accumulated were: 2017 ASUN All-Conference Second Team, 2016 ASUN All-Conference Second Team, and a 2016 Louisville Slugger Player of the Week.
Upshaw received a Sports Management degree from Kennesaw State. He is a Buford, Ga. native.
