Football season isn't over, but the banner is already hanging. Kennesaw State men's basketball tips off its title defense Monday night, and for the first time in a while the Owls walk in as the team everybody else is chasing.
Kennesaw State opens the 2026-27 season against Midway on Monday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m. ET at VyStar Arena. KSU's home games that aren't picked up nationally stream on ESPN+.
Where we left off
Last March was a ride. The Owls finished 21-14, went just 10-10 in Conference USA play and entered the league tournament in Huntsville as the No. 6 seed. Then they won three games in three days: 96-87 over Western Kentucky, 79-73 over Sam Houston and 71-60 over Louisiana Tech for the CUSA title. That sent KSU to its second NCAA Tournament in four seasons, where it fell 73-64 to No. 3 Gonzaga in Portland.
Head coach Antoine Pettway, now in his fourth season, was named the Ben Jobe national coach of the year after the run. Asked by HoopsHD about bringing back his core, he put it simply: "they all came back because they want to win another title."
The expectations
They're high. The league's coaches picked Kennesaw State second in the CUSA preseason poll with 90 points and three first-place votes, just behind Western Kentucky (94 points, five first-place votes). Liberty was third, followed by Sam Houston and Middle Tennessee. It's the second straight year KSU has been picked second. Last year, the Owls finished the job anyway.
The sophomores who stayed
The headline is continuity. In the transfer-portal era, Pettway kept his three best young pieces together.
- F Trey Simpson (6-8): Preseason All-CUSA. He made the CUSA All-Freshman Team after averaging 9.0 points and 4.9 rebounds in all 35 games, with 23 starts. He led KSU with 58 made 3-pointers, and his 44 blocks are the most of any returning player in the league. A stretch big who also protects the rim is a matchup problem every night.
- F Amir Taylor (6-9): Also Preseason All-CUSA. Taylor averaged 7.5 points for the season, but 12.5 over the final 11 games, scoring in double figures in each of the last seven. He made the CUSA All-Tournament Team in Huntsville.
- G Kaden Rickard (6-6): The third piece of that class. He scored 12 points with three assists in the 88-73 exhibition win over Mercer on Oct. 11.
The new faces
Pettway added five transfers this spring, and three of them played in CUSA last year, so they already know the league.
- G Jacoby Hill (Jacksonville State): One of the league's top freshmen last season, averaging 10.0 points on 51.4 percent shooting with two 20-point games.
- F Avery Thomas II (Louisiana Tech): Averaged 9.1 points and 7.2 rebounds, 10th in CUSA, and then a double-double in the CUSA Tournament (10.7 points, 10.3 rebounds). The Owls saw that up close in the title game.
- G CJ Beaumont (Sam Houston): A 6-8 guard who closed his Bearkat career with 22 points in an NIT game at New Mexico.
- G Kris Parker (UCF): A 6-9 guard who led KSU with 15 points and seven rebounds in the Mercer exhibition.
- F Anthony Enoh (Georgia State): A 6-7 senior who adds frontcourt depth.
Add a five-man freshman class, led so far by F Kyler Theophile, who went 6-for-7 for 14 points against Mercer, and this is the deepest roster Pettway has had. KSU got 48 bench points in that exhibition.
Dates to circle
- Mon., Nov. 2: Opener vs. Midway, 7 p.m.
- Tue., Nov. 17: At Alabama, 7:30 p.m. ET (6:30 CT) Pettway's alma mater, and the Owls' biggest nonconference test.
- Nov. 24: Cancun Challenge vs. Eastern Michigan, 6 p.m. (FloHoops)
- Wed., Dec. 9: At Georgia State, 7 p.m.
- Thu., Dec. 31: Vs. Western Kentucky, 6 p.m., ESPN2. The two preseason favorites meet in the CUSA opener, and it's KSU's first regular-season ESPN2 game ever.
- Sat., Jan. 23: Vs. Liberty, 6 p.m., CBS Sports Network.
That's part of a school-record five national TV games this season. The CUSA Tournament returns to Propst Arena in Huntsville, March 9-13.
The bottom line
Kennesaw State has the two preseason all-conference sophomores, a league-tested transfer class and a coach who just won a title as a No. 6 seed. The nonconference slate is mostly home games, so expect a fast start before the trip to Tuscaloosa sets the tone.
Our early call: a fast November, a split of the two showdowns with Western Kentucky, and a top-two finish in CUSA. Go back-to-back in March? Nobody in this league will want to see these Owls in Huntsville. OwlUp.
Part 2, on the women's team, drops Sunday. Until then, bookmark the full Kennesaw State schedule, catch up on football with 3 Things We Learned from the MTSU win, and grab some black-and-gold game-day gear for opening night.
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