Mike Sansing
Sansing in 2014
Playing career
1980–1981Gordon
1982–1983West Georgia
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1985–1986West Georgia (Asst.)
1987–1988Southern Poly (Asst.)
1989–1991Shorter (GA)
1992–2021Kennesaw State
Head coaching record
Overall1,163–669
TournamentsNCAA D1: 3–3
A-Sun: 14–16
NCAA D2: 36–19
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
NAIA World Series (1994)
Awards
GIAC Coach of the Year (1990, 1991)

Mike Sansing is a former American college baseball coach, who a majority of his career served as head coach of the Kennesaw State Owls baseball team. He was named to that position prior to the 1992 season, when Kennesaw State was an NAIA team. He led the Owls as they joined the NCAA's Division II in 1994, and in 2005 began the process to elevate the program to Division I, completed for the 2010 season.[1]

Sansing played at Gordon College and West Georgia, being named all-conference all four years, and team MVP honors three times. He began his coaching career with the Wolves in 1985. He served two seasons as an assistant, then two seasons at Southern Poly before his first head coaching position at Shorter. In his final year with the Hawks, he led the team to the 1991 conference title; he was named the conference coach of the year in both 1990 and 1991. He then moved to Kennesaw State. In his time with the Owls, he led Kennesaw State to the 1994 NAIA World Series title in their final season in the NAIA. The Owls then claimed the 1996 NCAA Division II Baseball Championship and a pair of national runner-up finishes in 1998 and 1999. Nine of his teams have won 40 or more games, including six in a row and 61 in 1998, a national record. Baseball America named Kennesaw State the "Best Division II program of the 1990s."[1][2][3][4][5]

After moving to Division I, the Owls joined the Atlantic Sun Conference. They were not eligible for the postseason until 2010, but then made four straight A-Sun Tournaments from 2011–2014. They went 0–2 in 2011, lost in the championship game in 2012 and 2013, and won the 2014 tournament to advance to their first NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. There, they had surprising success, going 3–1 at the Tallahassee Regional to advance to the Super Regional round, where they lost to Louisville.

On May 31, 2021, Keenesaw State announced Mike Sansing's retirement.[6]

Head coaching record

Below is a table of Sansing's records as a collegiate head baseball coach.[5][7][8]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Shorter Hawks (Georgia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – NAIA) (1989–1991)
1989 Shorter 29–22
1990 Shorter 34–20 NAIA District 25 playoffs
1991 Shorter 39–13 1st NAIA District 25 playoffs
Shorter: 102–55
Kennesaw State (Georgia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – NAIA) (1992–1994)
1992 Kennesaw State 39–19 19–9 NAIA District 25 playoffs
1993 Kennesaw State 36–16 15–13 NAIA District 25 playoffs
1994 Kennesaw State 48–14 20–8 1st NAIA World Series
Kennesaw State (Peach Belt Conference – NCAA DII) (1995–2005)
1995 Kennesaw State 43–14 19–4 1st NCAA Regional
1996 Kennesaw State 48–17 17–6 2nd College World Series
1997 Kennesaw State 48–14 19–4 1st College World Series
1998 Kennesaw State 61–5 27–1 1st College World Series
1999 Kennesaw State 49–14 21–9 2nd College World Series
2000 Kennesaw State 38–20 18–12 4th NCAA tournament
2001 Kennesaw State 45–15 21–9 2nd NCAA tournament
2002 Kennesaw State 46–13 25–5 1st NCAA tournament
2003 Kennesaw State 40–18 18–12 4th College World Series
2004 Kennesaw State 32–24 15–15 4th Peach Belt Tournament
2005 Kennesaw State 37–22 19–11 2nd NCAA tournament
Kennesaw State (Atlantic Sun Conference – NCAA DI) (2006–2021)
2006 Kennesaw State 24–32 12–18 T-8th
2007 Kennesaw State 32–23 13–14 T-5th
2008 Kennesaw State 30–26 21–12 2nd
2009 Kennesaw State 30–22 20–9 2nd
2010 Kennesaw State 23–32 12–15 8th
2011 Kennesaw State 32–25 18–11 3rd A-Sun tournament
2012 Kennesaw State 34–25 15–11 3rd A-Sun tournament
2013 Kennesaw State 30–30 13–14 T-6th A-Sun tournament
2014 Kennesaw State 40–24 17–9 3rd NCAA Super Regional
2015 Kennesaw State 28–28 10–10 6th A-Sun tournament
2016 Kennesaw State 29–27 17–4 1st A-Sun tournament
2017 Kennesaw State 25–32 10–11 5th A-Sun tournament
2018 Kennesaw State 25–30 11–10 3rd A-Sun tournament
2019 Kennesaw State 27–29 11–13 7th
2020 Kennesaw State 10–8 Season canceled on March 12
due to Coronavirus pandemic[9]
2021 Kennesaw State 29–22 13–8 2nd (North) ASUN tournament
Kennesaw State: 1,061–641 486–287
Total: 1,163–669

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. ^ a b "2011–12 Baseball Coaching Staff". Kennesaw State Owls. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  2. ^ "Kennesaw State's Mike Sansing Notches 800th Career Win". Atlantic Sun Conference. February 21, 2009. Archived from the original on January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  3. ^ Jim O'Hara (September 27, 2008). "Hawks to play marathon". Rome News-Tribune. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  4. ^ Jim Shonerd (February 10, 2009). "Heckathorn's success helps put Kennesaw State on Division I map". ESPN. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  5. ^ a b O'Hara, Jim (August 21, 1991). "Sansing Leaves Shorter for Owls". Rome News-Tribune. p. B1. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  6. ^ "Legendary Baseball Coach Mike Sansing Retires After 30 Years at KSU".
  7. ^ "Yearly Results". KSUOwls.com. Archived from the original on November 15, 2011. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  8. ^ "2013 Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Record Book" (PDF). AtlanticSun.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  9. ^ "ASUN Conference Cancels Intercollegiate Competitions for Remainder of Academic Year". 12 March 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
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