Kennesaw State Owls

The Kennesaw State Owls bring an underdog story to Conference USA basketball, playing at the KSU Convocation Center just outside Atlanta. After decades as a smaller program, the Owls captured the college basketball world's attention in 2023 with their first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament appearance under coach Amir Abdur-Rahim. That breakthrough turned Kennesaw State into a feel-good mid-major story almost overnight. It's a program on the rise, still chasing its first NCAA Tournament win.

Kennesaw State's basketball program dates to 1985 and won a Division II national championship in 2004 under coach Tony Ingle before the school transitioned fully to Division I in 2005. The program's signature moment came in 2023, when the Owls won their first Atlantic Sun championship and made their first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament appearance as a No. 14 seed, falling to Xavier in the first round. Kennesaw State has since moved to Conference USA, continuing to build on that historic breakthrough. The program has yet to win an NCAA Division I Tournament game.