It has been a historic basketball season for the Kennesaw State Owls basketball team.
Just two seasons removed from a 1-28 season in Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim’s first season, the Owls defeated Liberty University 67-66 to win the ASUN championship and qualify for the NCAA Division-1 basketball tournament for the first time.
The Owls won a national championship in Division 2 in 2004 but have yet to qualify for the postseason since moving to Division 1 in 2006.
The meteoric ride includes three players with local ties. East Coweta alumni Chris Youngblood, Brandon Stroud and former Heritage Hawk Kasen Jennings are all juniors and have made considerable contributions in the spectacular season.
Youngblood is the Owls leading scorer. The 6-foot-4 guard averages 14.7 points a game, along with 4.8 rebounds. He averaged 16.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game at East Coweta during the 2018-19 season.
Stroud, a 6-foot-6 guard, averaged 9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds this year at Kennesaw. He was also integral to Head Coach Royal Maxwell's 2018-19 team that finished 24-4. Stroud averaged 16.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game that year.
Kasen Jennings was a part of the Heritage Hawks 2018-19 state championship team. He averaged 15.5 points and six rebounds for Coach Joab Jerome's team. Jennings is averaging 6.3 points for the Owls.
Additionally, Youngblood was named a finalist for the 2022-23 Lou Henson National Player of the Year award. The award is presented annually to the top mid-major player in Division I men's basketball and honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in his career.
Youngblood ranks ninth all-time for points in a season at KSU with 499, fourth in three-point percentage (41.1 percent), and is tied for fourth with 79 made three-pointers this season.
On Sunday afternoon, the Owls will discover who they will play in the NCAA playoff's first round and their travel destination. Wherever they end up, there will be a lot of Coweta County in the contest.
Brandon Stroud (far right) shares a light moment on the Indians bench back in 2019. He was named a finalist for the 2022-23 NCAA player of the year award.
Former East Coweta Indian Brandon Stroud (No. 5) and the Kennesaw Owls just completed a championship run in the ASUN Conference Tournament and qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
Kasen Jennings (No. 1) was a Heritage Hawks 2019 state championship team member. He will play in the NCAA Basketball Tournament next week.
