After just three seasons at Kennesaw State, Antoine Pettway has already established himself as one of the top head coaches in Owl history. Hired as the eighth head coach in KSU men’s basketball history on April 8, 2023, all he has done is win with the Black and Gold, as his three seasons rank as the second, third and fourth best win totals in school history at the Division I level.
Pettway guided the 2025-26 Owls through a season that saw adversity at times, including losing a pair of starters in January, to a 7-2 run at the end of the regular season and the conference tournament. The Owls became the only team in the nation to knock off three top-four seeds in their conference tournament, taking down No. 3 seed Western Kentucky, No. 2 Sam Houston, and then No. 4 Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA championship game. The win gave KSU its first-ever CUSA title in just its second year in the league.
KSU earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in four years. As the No. 14 seed in the West, it gave No. 3 seed Gonzaga a battle all game long, leading for most of the opening half before eventually falling 75–66 in the NCAA First Round in Portland. Pettway is the only coach in Kennesaw State men's basketball history (Division I era) to lead the Owls to consecutive winning seasons after the Owls finished 21-14 overall, with the 21 wins ranking as the second-most in school history. After the season, he came the first-ever coach at KSU to be named the Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year, awarded to the top minority head coach in Division I basketball.
Looking at the D1 era at Kennesaw State, he became the fastest coach to reach 50 wins at KSU, reaching that milestone in just his 91
st career game. Pettway holds a 55-44 record through three seasons and owns the highest career winning percentage in KSU history at .556. His 26 career conference wins are also the most-ever by a coach at KSU, while the Owls have now posted back-to-back double-digit conference win totals for the first-time ever.
In his second season with the Black and Gold, Pettway guided the Owls to numerous firsts, including the first-ever win over a ranked opponent (79-77 over No. 24 Rutgers on Nov. 24), as well as the first-ever Quad victory with a road win at Liberty. Picked to finish in a tie for last in the team's first year in CUSA, Pettway guided KSU to a fourth-place finish at 10-8, and came up just short of an appearance in the CUSA championship game, falling to top-seed Liberty 81-79 in the tournament semifinals. KSU's 19-14 record in 2024-25 was the second-most wins ever in the D1 era.
Pettway's excellence on the recruiting trail was a huge factor in the team's success in 2024-25. After bringing in the top non-Power Four class in the nation (No. 32), the Owl freshman class would finish the season ranked in the top five in the nation for most points by a freshmen class, most points per game, and highest percentage of points. That was highlighted by the performance of Adrian Wooley, who became the first Owl to claim Freshman All-American honors, while he also claimed CUSA Freshman of the Year and First-Team All-CUSA accolades. Braedan Lue joined Wooley on the CUSA All-Freshman team as well.
He quickly made his impact on the program after arriving in 2023, as he envisioned turning the Owls into one of the fastest playing teams in the nation. After just one year at the helm of the Black and Gold, Pettway did exactly that, as KSU shattered almost every single Division I scoring record while ranking among the nation's leaders in several offensive categories. The Owls ranked sixth in the nation in fast break points (15.35 ppg) while playing at the fourth fastest pace in the nation (according to KenPom).
The Owls also finished their first year under Pettway with a 15-16 mark, with the 15 total season victories currently ranking as the fourth-highest ever in the program's Division I era.
KSU started out the 2023-24 season with a 4-1 record and a 9-3 mark after 12 games, both new record starts (D1 level). That run included wins over in-state rivals Georgia Southern and Georgia State, as well as an impressive overtime victory over UNC Asheville, a NCAA participant from the previous year. The Owls also began their last year in the Atlantic Sun with a 3-0 start, and claimed a season sweep over FGCU as one of the highlights of the year.
Pettway came to the Black and Gold after a stellar 15 years on the Alabama coaching staff, which culminated in the Crimson Tide spending several weeks as the nation’s No. 1 ranked team this past season. Known as one of the top recruiters in the nation, he brought in the third-ranked class in the nation in 2022 that included two five-star and two four-star recruits, highlighted by NBA Draft Top 3 pick and 2022-23 National Freshman of the Year Brandon Miller.
Alabama ranked in the top 20 in the nation in scoring in the final four years under Pettway as the team’s offensive coordinator. That included the 2022-23 season in which the team averaged 81.8 points per game, seventh-best in the nation. Over his final three years in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide posted four SEC championship titles and a pair of Sweet 16 appearances and set the school record for single season wins with a 31-6 record in 2022-23. Alabama made five NCAA tournaments and six NIT appearances during his time in Tuscaloosa.
Pettway has recruited and developed over 40 professional athletes. That included eight NBA players in his last four years at Alabama, highlighted by Collin Sexton, Kira Lewis, Herb Jones, Mark Sears, JD Davison and Noah Clowney.
Before joining the Alabama staff in the summer of 2008, he spent two years as an assistant coach at Jacksonville State, after one season as a graduate assistant coach at Alabama. Pettway served as assistant coach at Alabama from 2008-10, then spent three seasons as the team’s director of operations before moving back into an assistant coach role for the 2013-14 season.
A notable example of Pettway’s work ethic was his playing career at Alabama, as he joined the Crimson Tide as a walk-on with an academic scholarship before earning a scholarship for his sophomore season. Starting with that sophomore season, Alabama made the NCAA Tournament his final three seasons, including the Elite Eight in the 2003-04 season. Pettway was an integral part of that run in 2004, starting every game that season at point guard. After his collegiate playing career, he spent the next year playing for the NBA Development League (Huntsville Flight) and the World Basketball Association (Kentucky Reach), where he was named the WBA Rookie of the Year.
THE PETTWAY FILE
HEAD COACH CAREER
2023-24 Kennesaw State 15-16
2024-25 Kennesaw State 19-14
2025-26 Kennesaw State 21-14 (CUSA Tournament Champions / NCAA First Round)
Total 55-44 (.556)
ASSISTANT COACH CAREER
2006-07 Jax State 9-21
2007-08 Jax State 7-22
2008-09 Alabama 17-16
2009-10 Alabama 18-14
2010-11 Alabama 17-16
2011-12 Alabama *25-12
2012-13 Alabama 23-13
2013-14 Alabama 13-19
2014-15 Alabama 19-15
2015-16 Alabama 18-15
2016-17 Alabama 19-15
2017-18 Alabama *20-16
2018-19 Alabama 18-16
2019-20 Alabama 16-15
2020-21 Alabama 26-7
2021-22 Alabama 19-14
2022-23 Alabama *31-6
Total 315-252
* - NCAA Tournament Appearance
PERSONAL
Hometown: Camden, Ala.
Family: Wife: Kim, Son: Kingston, Daughters: Jana Rae, Summer
Alma Mater: Alabama ’04
(Bachelor’s Degree in Business – ‘04/Master’s in Sport Management ‘06).
COACHING EXPERIENCE
2008-23: Alabama (Assistant Coach/Director of Operations)
2006-08: Jacksonville State (Assistant Coach)
2005-06: Alabama (Graduate Assistant Coach)
PLAYING EXPERIENCE
2000-04: Alabama (2002 SEC Champs, 2004 Team Captain, 2004 Elite Eight)
2004-05: NBA Developmental League (Huntsville Flight)
2004-05: World Basketball Association (Kentucky Reach – WBA Rookie of the Year)
WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT COACH PETTWAY
"This is an outstanding hire by Kennesaw State. Antoine Pettway is the total package. His character, work ethic and dedication are among the best I've been around. He is a tireless recruiter and relationship builder. His knowledge of the game and leadership skills will attract great people. He and his family will be great ambassadors for the Kennesaw campus and community."
- Anthony Grant (Dayton head coach)
"From the time Antoine arrived as a walk-on at Alabama, his magnetic personality elevated his teammates and the program. When he got the ball in clutch moments, you knew something big was going to happen. Something big is about to happen at Kennesaw State. he's dynamic and charismatic. He's fearless and tough. I've watched him in practice and in games. He has a remarkable ability to know when to raise the intensity and when to be calm. Players respond to him because he's genuine. he's a man of faith and and exactly the kind of person anyone would want their son to play for. Kennesaw State has a rising star that's going to do for them what he's done his whole life, make everybody around him better and lead them on a fantastic ride.
- Rece Davis (Host of College Gameday)
"Antoine Pettway has been an elite recruiter whose consistency and work ethic is respected nationwide. Just look at the guards that he has not only recruited but developed into NBA players over the last few years. What I'm excited to see is his unbelievable basketball mind that he now has the chance to display after being exposed to the exceptional offense of Coach Nate Oats, the gritty defense of Anthony Grant and the NBA background of Avery Johnson.
- Daymeon Fishback (ESPN/SEC Network)
