A three-year letter winner at the University of Missouri, Alyssa Cousins joined the Kennesaw State softball program in October of 2016.
During Cousins' five years as an assistant, the Owls have compiled an overall record of 153-97, including a 45-25 record in ASUN Conference play, made three postseason appearances, and captured the 2018 conference regular-season and tournament championships. The 2018 season also marked a program first as Kennesaw State won its first ASUN Conference tournament crown and appeared the NCAA Division I Softball Championship for the first time.
The Owls have also experienced a great deal of individual success as four KSU players have earned NFCA All-South Region honors and junior Maddie Roth garnered NFCA All-American recognition. Additionally, nine players have been named first team ASUN All-Conference, 10 have been voted second team all-conference and eight individuals have been selected all-freshman.
In 2021, Cousins' helped led the Owls to a groundbreaking year where KSU secured its first ever NCAA Division I Regional win after defeating Auburn 1-0 in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional.
The Owls went 27-27 overall and 10-5 in ASUN conference play. The Owls faced seven Power Five schools including Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Tennessee and Auburn. Recording upsets over the Yellow Jackets, Tigers and Knights.
KSU earned an at-large bid into the 2021 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament where they were seeded No. 4 in the Tallahassee Regional. The Owls entered NCAA regional play with a 56 RPI and the No. 29 strength of schedule according to D1Softball.
As a team, KSU finished the season ranked first in the conference in triples (11), second in hits (359), doubles (64), RBIs (188) and slugging percentage (.409) while ranking third in runs (198) and shutouts (8).
In 2020, helped guide KSU to a historic start before the season was shortened by the NCAA due to COVID-19. The Owls raced out to a 21-4 record before ASUN Conference play, highlighted by wins at a Top-25 Auburn squad, Iowa State, Penn State, and a 13-1 home record.
The Owls dominated at the plate. The team’s .350 average ranked seventh nationally. The Owls were sixth in the country with 47 doubles, and eighth with 12 triples. KSU carried a .419 on-base percentage that was 14th best in the country, and ranked 18th with an average of 6.64 runs per-game.
Individually, three times an Owl earned ASUN Player of the Week honors with Katie Greep claiming a pair and freshman Cheyanne Sales earning the season’s first.
Seven Owls hit above .324, including four above the .400 mark. Brea Dickey was sixth in the NCAA with 49 hits, and eighth with four triples.
The Owls suffered just one loss in the Troy Invitational, I-75 Challenge, and Colorado State Classic. They swept the Phyllis Rafter and Dr. Bobbie Bailey Memorial Tournaments. The victory at Auburn was the first home-opening loss in Tiger history. KSU also downed NCAA Tournament regulars Colorado State, Southeast Missouri State and Eastern Illinois.
In 2017, senior catcher Courtney Sutter was named ASUN Conference Player of the Year, while pitcher Alley Cutting voted Freshman of the Year. As a sophomore in 2018, Cutting was tabbed Pitcher of the Year, while Patricia Awald was earned Freshman of the Year honors. 11 individuals have been chosen ASUN Player of the Week and six Owls have been awarded Pitcher of the Week recognition.
Cousins joins the Owls' coaching staff after one year at Grayson College where she served the dual role of assistant softball coach and residential advisor.
During her career at Mizzou, Cousins was a member of three Tigers teams that posted a cumulative record of 123-48 (.719), made three NCAA Division I regional appearances, two Super Regional showings and earned three Top 15 final national rankings.
In addition to her efforts on the field, Cousins was a three-time Academic Honor Roll honoree.
Born in Fort Ord, Calif., Cousins attended Newman Smith High School in Carrolton, Texas where she was named district Catcher of the Year in 2009 and 2011 and first team all-district in 2008 and 2010. She earned a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation and tourism, with an emphasis in sport management, from the University of Missouri in 2015.
