New Mexico State’s baseball team takes on Kennesaw State in game 5 of the Conference USA tournament at Worthington Field on May 22, 2025. Photo taken by Simon Barbre Courtesy of KSU Athletics.
Owls baseball is set to break in its new home, looking to make more noise as a second-year member of Conference USA.
Kennesaw State baseball is set to return to KSU’s Kennesaw campus this season, playing at the newly renovated Mickey Dunn Stadium at Henssler Financial Field after spending last season down the road on KSU’s Marietta campus.
The Owls finished their debut season in CUSA with a 17-9 conference record and a 31-27 overall record, good for third in the conference standings. Coach Ryan Coe said a year’s worth of familiarity will go a long way for the team to capitalize on the success of 2025.
“I think you kind of know what to expect now and what you need to improve on,” Coe said. “The first time through [the conference], you don’t really know what to expect or what style everybody plays. Now you have a better idea of what you’re walking into, I think.”
The non-conference schedule will provide an opportunity for the Owls to face off against some marquee opponents, including Florida, West Virginia and Georgia. Coe said the preparation for these games remains the same as it would for conference play.
“I think you just prepare the same for every game,” Coe said. “Every year I’ve been here we’ve tried to play a top 30 schedule. Sometimes I look at the schedule and wonder what I was thinking when I put it together, but that’s what we do. We challenge ourselves early to prepare for the end of the season. When we get to the tournament at the end of the year and we’ve played a tough schedule, we’re not seeing anything that we haven’t seen already.”
Highlighting key returners is Wesley Alig, a sophomore who finished his freshman year with a .312 average, including five home runs and 37 RBIs.
Also returning is Shamaar McDuffie, who started in every game last season for KSU, finishing with a .215 batting average and 35 RBIs.
PitcherHarry Cain, a redshirt senior who missed two years due to injury and returned to the rotation last year starting 10 games, is set for his final rodeo with the Owls this season. Cain spoke about his journey since his injury.
“It’s been long,” Cain said. “Last year was my first year playing again. But man, it’s just been nothing but gratitude. I really found the Lord, and He really gave me purpose in my game, and who I am as a man. He allowed me to come back to the game and enjoy it in a whole new aspect, so it’s been a beautiful thing.”
KSU is set to debut 10 freshmen players this season, a group Coe expressed his excitement for.
“It’s a really good group there,” Coe said. “Really talented, and it’s been a good place of energy for our program. We continue to recruit from the state of Georgia and continue to give freshmen a chance to come in and play, and that’s kind of what we’ve done for the program, and it’s been very successful for us.”
The Owls also added five transfers to the roster in the offseason, including outfielder Trenton Lyons, who hit .256 in seven appearances with North Carolina State and appeared in 22 games during his freshman year with Ole Miss.
Sophomore pitcher Cooper McMullen also stands out in the transfer class, havingspent his freshman year at Georgia Tech, where he posted a 3.68 ERA with a save and only allowed three earned runs in 7.1 innings.
CUSA’s 2026 preseason poll has KSU picked to finish in third place, behind Dallas Baptist and Louisiana Tech.
KSU will begin its season at Mickey Dunn Stadium against Evansville on Feb. 13 at 4 p.m.
