The Kennesaw State Department of Athletics is proud to announce the upcoming induction of three members for the Hall of Fame Class of 2024. This year’s class is comprised of Chandler Burks, Max Pentecost and Mike Sansing. Two female athletes were also voted into the Hall of Fame, but have deferred their induction until next year’s ceremony, and they will be announced when the full 2025 class is revealed.
“We are proud to announce the addition of these three outstanding individuals to our Hall of Fame for everything they have accomplished and contributed to Kennesaw State Athletics,” said Director of Athletics Milton Overton. “This group is especially notable for including those who helped bridge our jump into Division I, inductees who reached the NCAA Tournament, and our first-ever representation by our football program.”
The ceremony will take place on the evening of Friday, Nov. 15 at the NorthStar Church in Kennesaw, and the class will be introduced during the Nov. 16 football game against Sam Houston.
Chandler Burks will be the inaugural member of the KSU football program to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. As Kennesaw State’s first-ever football signee, Burks helped build the foundation of the Kennesaw State program during his five years on campus (2013-18). As the most decorated player in program history, he was the FCS’ leader in rushing touchdowns with 29 scores in 2018, which was a new FCS single-season record by a quarterback, and went on to be named the 2018 FCS National Performer of the Year at the College Football Performance Awards and finished runner-up for the Walter Payton Award as the top offense player at the FCS level. Burks led the Owls to the FCS Quarterfinals for the second-straight season. During his three-plus seasons as the signal caller for the Owls, he threw for 3,638 yards and 33 touchdowns, which tops the Kennesaw State record book. He also finished his career with 2,813 rushing yards and 56 rushing touchdowns, played in 42 career contests, and had an astounding 31-6 record as the starting quarterback. As the back-to-back Big South Offensive Player of the Year, Burks goes down as the only player in conference history to also win the Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year award in the same season, doing so in 2017 and 2018. Currently, he is the co-offensive coordinator for Kennesaw State and is tied for the youngest offensive coordinator at the FBS level.a
Max Pentecost was the highest-ever MLB draft pick out of Kennesaw State, as he was the 11th overall pick of the 2014 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. But Pentecost was making history before that, as he led the Owls to a historic run to the NCAA Super Regionals in the 2014 NCAA Tournament after winning its first-ever regional final by knocking off Alabama twice in the Tallahassee Regional. A consensus First-Team All-American (American Baseball Coaches Association, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, Perfect Game), he was the Johnny Bench Award Winner in 2014 after setting new school records for hits (113) and batting average (.422). He led the Owls to a school-record 40-win season in 2014 (40-24), and was named 2014 Atlantic Sun Player. Currently, he ranks first on the KSU record charts for career doubles (53) and most caught runners (22), second for most RBI in a season with 61 and fifth in all-time batting average (.343).
Mike Sansing is the winningest and longest-tenured head coach in Kennesaw State Athletics history. He retired after the 2021 baseball season with a 1056-638 overall record. In his 30 years with the Owls, he led them to seven national tournaments, the school’s first-ever appearance in the 2014 NCAA Super Regionals after winning the Tallahassee Regional thanks to back-to-back wins over Alabama. Sansing also guided the Owls to the 1996 NCAA Division II national title as well as the 1994 NAIA championship title. He served as head coach during KSU’s move from NAIA to Division II to Division I, and during the four-year reclassification period in which the Owls were not eligible for NCAA tournament play, he still guided KSU to 116 wins, a pair of second-place conference finishes and saw eight players selected in the MLB Draft. In all, 66 of Sansing’s players have been drafted by MLB including first-rounder Max Pentecost.