Kennesaw State University Men's Baseball

Career Highlights  2026: Fifth season as head coach at Kennesaw State Records at KSU: 124-108 (.534) overall record 65-39 (.625) home record Sixth head coach in KSU baseball history Fastest KSU DI baseball head coach to 71 wins Led Owls to NCAA Hattiesburg Regional in first season 2022 Atlantic Sun Conference tournament champion 2024 Atlantic Sun Runner-Up Kennesaw State athletics Hall of Famer (class of 2004) Ryan Coe enters his fifth season as the head coach for the Black and Gold, after returning to lead his alma mater in 2021. In his fourth season at the helm, Coe led the Owls to a 31-27 overall record, highlighted by a seven-game win streak that included series sweeps over Sam Houston and FIU. KSU went 17-9 in conference play, finishing third in its inaugural Conference USA season, and advanced to the conference tournament semifinals. Coe also became just the third head coach in program history to reach 100 career wins at KSU, achieving the milestone with a 5-3 win at Mercer on March 12. Under his direction, five Owls (Wesley Alig, Nate Anderson, Ty Bayer, Donovan Cash and Bo Rhudy) earned All-CUSA honors. The Black and Gold also continued their streak of professional success, as Braden Osbolt was selected in the sixth round of the MLB Draft by the Cincinnati Reds, marking the 17th-consecutive year that an Owl has been drafted, excluding the five-round 2020 MLB Draft, and the third-straight season that a KSU arm was selected. In 2024, the Owls tallied a 32-24 record including a seven-game win streak that featured three one-run wins in the ASUN tournament. The Owls defeated No. 10 Clemson 18-1 on Feb. 23, handing the Tigers their worst home loss since 1936. Coe's Owls also took two of three from eventual SEC Regular Season Champion No. 25 Kentucky. Kennesaw State defeated Stetson, FGCU and Central Arkansas en route to the second Atlantic Sun Championship Game berth in his three-year tenure. KSU baseball continues to ascend nationally as the 2024 off season provided several accolades for the program. D1Baseball ranked the Owls the 85th best program in the country, cracking the organizations "Top 100". Perfect Game also highlighted the Owls as they landed three players in the top 500 prospects incoming D-I prospects. PG ranked the Owls as the 44th best recruiting class in the nation, besting three in-state programs (Georgia State, Georgia Southern and Mercer) and marking the best class in CUSA.  In his first year leading the Owls, Coe became the only head coach in ASUN Conference history to win the league's tournament in his first season with the team. Coe led Kennesaw State to a 36-28 record and an appearance in the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 2014. The Owls finished conference play with a 19-11 record and were crowned co-champions of the ASUN East Division while setting a new program record for the most conference wins in a single season.  After suffering losses in their first two games of the conference tournament, Coe and the Owls battled back and won three-straight elimination games to earn the team's first ASUN Tournament Championship in eight years. KSU defeated Liberty 10-6 in the finale and had five players selected to the All-Tournament Team, including the ASUN Tournament MVP, Josh Hatcher.  At the Hattiesburg Regional, Coe led KSU to its first win in the NCAA tournament since Kennesaw State downed the University of Alabama in the 2014 Tallahassee Regional final. Coe and the Owls earned a tough win over Army West Point, 9-8, with two late runs that completed the comeback. At the conclusion of the tournament, the Owls placed two on the Hattiesburg Regional All-Tournament Team in Hatcher and Tyler Simon. The duo of Hatcher and Simon paced the high-powered KSU offense that broke multiple single-season program records in 2022. These included most home runs (70), runs batted in (408), total bases (1,035) and runs scored (455) in a season. Coe’s offense also collected a .301 batting average and marked the second time in KSU history the Owls finished over .300 in this category. In his first year as head coach of the Owls, Coe guided Hatcher to one of the best individual offensive seasons in Kennesaw State history. The outfielder ended the year ranked first in the NCAA in both hits (109) and doubles (26). He was a first-team All-ASUN selection and Collegiate Baseball Third Team All-American. Coe's second season as head coach featured a young team where 12 underclassmen saw significant playing time. The team was led by ninth-round MLB Draft pick, Blake Wehunt, the team's Friday night starter who was selected by the Boston Red Sox. Wehunt's selection extended Kennesaw State baseball's streak to 15 consecutive years with at least one player drafted (excluding the 2020 COVID shortened draft).  Immediately upon his arrival, Coe hit the recruiting trail. In his first month as head coach, Coe put together an inaugural class which was recognized by Perfect Game USA as the 57th-ranked class in the country out of 302 Division I baseball teams. Despite a late start in the recruiting cycle, Coe committed some of the nation’s top prospects to Kennesaw State for the 2023 class. Prior to Kennesaw State, Coe spent nearly 12 years as a scout for the Texas Rangers, joining the MLB team following a 15-year spell as a player and coach at KSU under newly-retired head coach Mike Sansing.   "Just thinking about Kennesaw State brings back so many good memories," said Coe. "I hate to leave the Rangers. I really enjoyed that part of my career, but I care too much about the KSU baseball program not to pursue the head coaching job. I want to continue the amazing work that Mike Sansing has done, taking the program further and further every year and it's my goal to continue that upward trend."  Coe first stepped foot on the Kennesaw State campus in 1994, transferring from Tennessee's Cleveland State Community College where he was a second-team All-American.  The catcher made an impact as soon as he slotted into the lineup, hitting 18 home runs and 79 RBIs with a .369 batting average. At the 1994 NAIA Districts in Columbus, Ga., the slugger from East Ridge, Tenn. walked off a win for Kennesaw State College with a homer in the bottom of the ninth against defending district champions Brewton-Parker; the district win would go down in the history books as KSU's first title ever.  Coe continued his reputation as a top-notch batter throughout the NAIA postseason, earning a selection into the All-Tournament team as the Owls became the 1994 NAIA Baseball National Champions. For his efforts, Coe was named Kennesaw State's Athlete-of-the-Year.  Despite having a 1994 to remember, Coe managed to one-up himself in 1995. Coe hit for a .455 batting average in the squad's inaugural year in the NCAA's Division-II, a rate which lives on as the best batting average in KSU's history. Winning the 1995 Peach Belt Athletic Conference Player of the Year, Coe continues to hold the Peach Belt records for career slugging percentage with .732 and consecutive games with a home run with seven. He also holds Kennesaw State's all-time career records in batting average (.411) and slugging percentage, as well as the single-season record for on-base percentage (.545).  His long list of accolades includes the rare distinction of earning All-American honors at three different levels: junior college in 1993, NAIA in 1994 and NCAA Division II in 1995. The standout's stunning collegiate career led to his selection by the Houston Astros in the 1995 MLB Amateur Draft. He spent three years with the organization, earning a selection as a 1996 Midwest League All-Star in that time.  Coe would return to Kennesaw State in Sept. 1997 as an assistant coach under Sansing. In his role, Coe coordinated recruitment, developed catchers and hitters, developed practice plans and ran the in-game offense.  During his time as a coach, Coe was inducted with pitcher John Kelly as KSU baseball's first inductees into the Kennesaw State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004. Also inducted that year was Coe's wife, former Owls softball standout Cara Dornstauder. Coe would serve as an assistant coach for Kennesaw State until Nov. 2009, when he was offered a position in the Texas Rangers organization. He would serve as the East Coast crosschecker for the Arlington, Texas outfit, identifying and evaluating prospects from the East Coast and Canada for the MLB draft.   What others are saying about Ryan Coe… "I am ecstatic for Ryan, Cara and his daughters. He fits all the criteria to be a great head coach for Kennesaw State: an All-American, a National Championship winner, a former coach here. I'm thrilled that Kennesaw State has chosen someone who has represented and upheld the KSU name extremely well for over a decade. His success as a player, his time spent as a coach and his presence around the highest level of player development in the sport will show the fans why I'm so excited for him to get going." – Mike Sansing, former Kennesaw State baseball coach "Throughout my 29 years working in collegiate baseball, I have had the great opportunity to meet many outstanding baseball minds - but few as intelligent, dedicated and passionate as Ryan Coe. Ryan is someone who understands how to identify talent, build relationships with players, and develop a sustainable culture. I have no doubt he will lead Kennesaw State to big things for years to come." – Kevin O'Sullivan, head coach of University of Florida baseball "I've had the opportunity to work with Ryan Coe for over a decade. Kennesaw State got a great one! He is driven, conscientious, value-oriented and ultra-competitive. He will put together a team with similar values and ethics, who love to play, love to win, and are willing to put the necessary work in. Equally important, parents will feel good about trusting him with the continued development of their sons. The Rangers are going to miss him, and wish Ryan and his family all the best." – Jon Daniels, President of Baseball Operations, Texas Rangers Ryan Coe’s Professional Career     1997  Kennesaw State  Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coord.  1998  Kennesaw State  Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coord.  1999  Kennesaw State  Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coord.  2000  Kennesaw State    Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coord.  2001  Kennesaw State  Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coord.  2002  Kennesaw State  Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coord.  2003  Kennesaw State  Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coord.  2004  Kennesaw State  Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coord.  2005  Kennesaw State  Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coord.  2006  Kennesaw State  Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coord.  2007  Kennesaw State  Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coord.  2008  Kennesaw State  Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coord.  2009  Kennesaw State  Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coord.  2010  Texas Rangers  Scout, East Coast  2011  Texas Rangers  Scout, East Coast  2012  Texas Rangers  Scout, East Coast  2013  Texas Rangers  Scout, East Coast  2014  Texas Rangers  Scout, East Coast  2015  Texas Rangers  Scout, East Coast  2016  Texas Rangers  Scout, East Coast  2017  Texas Rangers  Scout, East Coast  2018  Texas Rangers  Scout, East Coast  2019  Texas Rangers  Scout, East Coast  2020  Texas Rangers  Scout, East Coast  2021  Texas Rangers  Scout, East Coast  2022  Kennesaw State  Head Coach | 36-28 Record  2023  Kennesaw State  Head Coach | 25-29 Record  2024  Kennesaw State  Head Coach | 32-24 Record  2025  Kennesaw State  Head Coach | 31-27 Record Ryan Coe’s Postseason History    2022   Kennesaw State  Hattiesburg Regional (1-2)

Matthew Passauer enters his fifth season as the pitching coach for Kennesaw State baseball in 2026 and fourth as the recruiting coordinator. Passauer joined the Owls in August of 2021 as the first pitching coach hired by head coach Ryan Coe. In Passauer’s fourth season managing the pitching staff, the Owls shattered the school record for strikeouts, punching out 519 hitters. This marked the second time in KSU history that the Owls recorded over 500 strikeouts, with both seasons coming under Passauer’s direction. Passauer also worked closely with starting pitcher Braden Osbolt, who was selected in the sixth round of the 2025 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Cincinnati Reds, extending KSU’s streak to three consecutive seasons with a pitcher drafted. Though Osbolt’s 2025 campaign was cut short by injury, the Molena, Ga., native finished his career with a 4.50 ERA and 108 strikeouts across 154 innings while earning seven victories. Passauer further guided freshman right-hander Ty Bayer to an All-CUSA Freshman Team nod, as the South Forsyth product posted a 2–3 record, logged 53.2 innings, and recorded 49 strikeouts in his debut season. Pitching soared during the 2023 season under Passauer's leadership as it was headlined by Blake Aita being selected in the sixth round by the Boston Red Sox. Aita experienced an unrivaled career year landing on the All-Atlantic Sun First Team and the ASUN All-Tournament Team. Reliever Bo Rhudy secured ASUN Relief Pitcher of the Year after compiling a team-high of six saves. The improvement from year to year has been steady as the staff has lowered their team ERA all three years of Passauer's tenure and has a 1.03 ERA improvement from year one to year three. In the off-season, pitcher Braden Osbolt his way into D1Baseball's Top 100 college MLB prospects for the 2025 season.  KSU baseball continues to ascend nationally as the 2024 off season provided several accolades for the program. D1Baseball ranked the Owls the 85th best program in the country, cracking the organizations "Top 100". Perfect Game also highlighted the Owls as they landed three players in the top 500 prospects incoming D-I prospects. PG ranked the Owls as the 44th best recruiting class in the nation, besting three in-state programs (Georgia State, Georgia Southern and Mercer) and the best in Conference USA. Passauer's second season as KSU's pitching coach was highlighted by Blake Wehunt's selection in the 2023 MLB Draft. The right-handed pitcher was taken in the ninth round by the Boston Red Sox, extending Kennesaw State baseball's streak to 15 consecutive seasons a player has been drafted (excluding the 2020 COVID shortened draft). Year two of Passauer's tenure featured young arms on the mound. Braden Osbolt, Blake Aita and Agyei Quinichett combined to throw 126.4 innings as true freshman. The trio also tallied five wins, five saves and struck out 109 batters on the season.  In his first season with the Owls, Passauer's pitching staff broke the school record for most strikeouts in a single season with 506. This marked the first time in KSU history that the pitching staff recorded over 500 punch-outs in a single season. Passauer also had two members of his pitching staff selected to the ASUN All-Tournament Team in Jack Myers and Luke Torbert.  During his first year, Passauer developed freshman right-hander Smith Pinson into an ASUN Conference All-Freshmen Team selection. Pinson tossed 65.0 innings for the Owls and finished second on the team with 80 strikeouts. The freshman also tied for the team-lead in wins with six and ranked second with three saves. Prior to Kennesaw State, Passauer coached at Miami of Ohio for four seasons. He joined the Redhawks in 2017, helping the team win its most games since 2011 with 35. The Erie, Pa. native also had his first two pitchers that he had a hand in developing picked by teams in the MLB Draft with Zach Spears heading to the Pirates and Nick Ernst chosen by the Yankees.  The next season, MU sported the 50th-best staff ERA in the nation with a 3.98 and the 48th-best strikeout-per-nine-inning ratio with 9.1. Passauer's staff also set school records for strikeouts, saves and walks-per-nine-innings. His last season with Miami was his most successful season of the bunch. Redhawk talisman Sam Bachman was selected ninth overall after an All-American and All-Conference season. Bachman ended the campaign ranked second nationally in WHIP, fourth in hits-per-nine, seventh in ERA and eighth in strikeouts-per-nine. Fellow hurlers Jacob Webb and Grant Hartwig also made it into big-league organizations.  Passauer's staff led the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in ERA, strikeouts, strikeouts-per-nine and batting-average-against while setting school records in strikeouts-per-nine, walks-per-nine and strikeouts in 2021. Among Division I teams, Miami ranked fifth in the nation in strikeouts-per-nine with 11.2 and 16th in ERA with a 3.61,   Prior to Miami of Ohio, Passauer was at the helm of the East Georgia State College program for four seasons. In his tenure, he developed 12 All-Conference players, an All-American, a Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) Player of the Year and a GCAA Defensive Player of the Year.  He set a new school record for wins in 2016, a feat that he repeated the next season. In 2017, Passauer was named that year's GCAA Coach of the Year after winning the conference championship. While at East Georgia, he also coached Richard Lovelady; Lovelady would later transfer to Kennesaw State before becoming a piece in the Kansas City Royals' bullpen.  Passauer got his coaching start in summer league baseball with the Willmar Stingers where he won two division championships and worked with 23 players who were later drafted by MLB teams.  As a player, Passauer imposed his six-foot-seven frame on the mounds of Duquesne, Maryland and Lee University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. He would later receive a Master of Science in Kinesiology with a Coaching Education emphasis from Georgia Southern.  Passauer lives with his wife, Mary Kate. In the spring of 2022, the couple welcomed their first daughter, Layla Mary. In March of 2024, they welcomed their first son, Chase. 

Dax Norris enters his first season with Kennesaw State baseball in 2026, bringing nearly two decades of collegiate coaching experience to the Saw. Norris brings 17 years of collegiate coaching experience, most recently serving as head coach at the University of New Orleans in 2025, where he led the Privateers to the Southland Conference Championship series and coached Bryce Calloway to an All-American season. As the interim head coach, UNO was second in the conference in home runs and slugging percentage. They also finished in the top five in the league in doubles, batting average, and runs scored. On the mound, the pitching staff posted a top 10 single-season strikeout total in program history and led the Southland in strikeouts per nine innings. "We're excited to welcome Dax to the Kennesaw State baseball family," Coe said. "His track record of developing players, recruiting elite talent, and building championship-caliber programs speaks for itself. Dax is a baseball lifer who brings tremendous experience from the SEC, CUSA, and Southland Conference. His ability to coach all areas of the game and his success in preparing players for professional baseball will be invaluable to our program." Prior to his head coaching stint, Norris served as pitching coach at New Orleans from 2021 to 2024, guiding staffs that posted three of the top 11 single-season strikeout totals in program history. His pitchers earned All-Southland honors in four consecutive seasons. Norris spent five seasons at Florida International (2016-2021), serving as pitching coach and recruiter before transitioning to the Panthers' hitting coach. During his tenure, FIU logged a pair of top five nationally ranked recruiting classes, plus another class being the only non-Power 5 school ranked in Baseball America's top 25 recruiting class. When he was the hitting coach, FIU was a mainstay atop the CUSA offensive leaderboards before the COVID-19 pandemic cut the season short. As pitching coach, he developed Logan Allen into the CUSA Freshman of the Year and later became a second-round draft pick by Cleveland and made his Major League debut in April 2023. During his time at FIU, Norris orchestrated one of the most dominant pitching programs in Conference USA history. His staff led CUSA in team ERA and produced a league-record five Pitcher of the Week selections in a single season. The Panthers' pitching staff shattered more than 10 individual school records and set new program marks for most saves, fewest walks allowed, and most strikeouts in a season. In 2017, six players were selected in the MLB draft, the second-most in school history, while three earned Freshman All-American honors, also a school record.  "Dax is a throwback grinder in the game," said Brian Snitker, former Atlanta Braves manager. "He played the game with everything he had and approaches coaching the same way. He will bring much knowledge and experience to help all student-athletes and staff." From 2007 to 2016, Norris coached at the University of Alabama, serving as both hitting coach and pitching coach/recruiting coordinator. He helped the Crimson Tide achieve numerous program milestones, including the program's best recruiting class (ranked fourth nationally), an SEC tournament championship runner-up finish, and NCAA Atlanta Regional and Clemson Super Regional appearances. Norris earned SEC Assistant Coach of the Year honors and coached eight All-Americans during his tenure. Throughout his coaching career, Norris has facilitated the selection of more than 44 players in the MLB draft, with 10 reaching the Major League. His notable draft picks include Spencer Turnbull (pitcher, second round, Detroit), Adam Morgan (pitcher, third round, Philadelphia), Alex Avila (catcher, fifth round, Detroit), Austin Shenton (infielder, fifth round, Seattle), Jimmy Nelson (pitcher, second round, Milwaukee) and JC Escarra (catcher/infielder, 15th round, Baltimore), all of whom have made MLB debuts. A former standout catcher at Alabama, Norris earned first-team All-American honors, served as SEC team captain and participated in the 1996 College World Series. He played 11 professional seasons in the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros organizations, reaching Triple-A with both clubs and earning 2002 Triple-A All-Star honors with the Richmond Braves. Following his playing career, Norris completed his bachelor's degree in human environmental science from the University of Alabama. A native of LaGrange, Ga., Norris is married to the former Rene' Simpkins and they have a son, Colton Dax Norris.  

My name is Pat Walker. I am in my third season of coaching at Kennesaw State University. Here at Kennesaw I coach the catchers and coach the bullpen in games. I also work along side our pitching coach in development of the pitchers on staff here at Kennesaw State. 

Terence Norman joins the Kennesaw State baseball staff as the program's Director of Baseball Operations. The 2025 season marks his third year in the newly created role. Norman was a standout on the KSU baseball team from 2017-2021. The Marietta, Ga. native was a two-time First Team All-ASUN selection and was named an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar. In his new role, Norman will oversee all baseball operations for the KSU baseball team. "I enjoyed every minute of my student-athlete experience here at Kennesaw State," said Norman. "I am super thankful to have the opportunity to stay involved and give back to such an outstanding program. We are looking forward to another great season." While at Kennesaw State, Norman etched his name into the Owl record book in multiple categories. The former outfielder currently sits fourth in hits (236), sixth in RBI (131), eighth in games played (199) and ninth in home runs (17). In his five-year career, Norman registered 199 games played with 186 starts. He holds a career .326 batting average which ranks as the 11th-highest in program history. In his 723 career at-bats, the outfielder recorded 51 extra base hits for the Black and Gold. Norman provided a big bat in the middle of the order and was a key piece in the KSU offense. One of his top performances came in a 17-8 win over Bellarmine (Mar. 14) inside Stillwell Stadium. Norman ended the day 3-for-6 with a home run, double and career-high six RBI. The KSU standout graduated in 2020 with a bachelor's degree in journalism. While working as a student-assistant coach for the Owls, Norman earned his master's degree in international policy management in the spring of 2022.