[This article by Dave Shelles with photo by Darnell Wilburn first appeared on the Kennesaw State University website, republished with permission]

When Owls shortstop Shamaar McDuffie laces up his spikes for the Kennesaw State University baseball team this spring, he will be among the first players to set foot inside Mickey Dunn Stadium at Henssler Financial Field.

Named for alumnus Mickey Dunn ’18, who provided the lead gift in its development, the new facility sits on the site of the former Fred Stillwell Stadium and cuts an impressive figure with expanded seating capacity and improved amenities.

“Honestly, this stadium is everything I could dream of,” McDuffie said. “This is something we needed to give us that spark. It’s easy to play for a school that has your back, and when you have the stadium to match the team, you want to play 10 times harder and put on a show for the fans.”

While KSU completed its fifth winning season in the past six years, Stillwell Stadium was renovated to become Mickey Dunn Stadium, complete with a revamped grandstand and a new overall seating capacity large enough to host conference tournaments, an NCAA Baseball Regional and Super Regional.

“We all had to come together and make that adjustment,” the junior shortstop said. “We took the same energy we had at Stillwell to the Marietta Campus, and now we will carry it to Mickey Dunn Stadium. It really hasn’t changed anything for us. We’re still working on one goal, and that’s to win.”

The renovation has already caught the eye of Conference USA. KSU was selected to host the 2026 CUSA tournament in May, which will mark the first time KSU will host a complete Division 1 baseball championship.

In addition, the new facility will have a new press box, new suites, premium area, and room for expansion as the Owls enter their second season in CUSA. The natural grass field has also been replaced with state-of-the-art artificial grass adorned with the institution’s signature “KS” logo woven into the outfield.

In a recent tour of the ballpark, Dunn got a firsthand look at the grandstand and at his own suite at the press box level.

A longtime benefactor of KSU baseball, walking through the stadium with his name on it left him awestruck.

His involvement with KSU baseball goes back to his time as a star player at SPSU in the late 1970s. After studying industrial engineering at SPSU, he founded ML Industries in 1990, a company that manufactures automotive safety features like interiors and airbags. As the company expanded to 5,000 employees, his support of the KSU baseball program grew, starting in 2018 with a $2.5 million donation.

“It’s just overwhelming,” Dunn said. “To see my name up there, it’s awe-inspiring. Every inch of the stadium looks amazing and is so well-thought out. I’m particularly impressed that they’ve planned for expansion around the stadium, and we’ll have plenty of opportunities for that.”

Perhaps no person has a better vantage point of the new stadium than head coach Ryan Coe ’98, who succeeded coach Mike Sansing in 2022 after 12 years as a scout for the Texas Rangers. Before that, Coe spent 15 years as player and assistant coach at KSU under Sansing.

Coe’s connection with Dunn started nearly 20 years ago when Coe coached Dunn’s son, Matt, in a summer baseball league. The two stayed in touch, and Dunn was involved in the hiring process that brought Coe back to the KSU dugout.

Coe said the stadium has already started to pay off on the recruiting trail.

“What Mickey has done for Kennesaw State baseball with his generous gift has been incredible,” Coe said. “This has made such a huge difference already with some of the recruits we’ve talked to. The reactions we’ve gotten when we show them the stadium have been outstanding.

The impact is being felt immediately and will for years to come.”

Longterm, Dunn hopes to see the NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals come to his namesake ballpark, and to see the Owls play in the NCAA Men’s College World Series. With McDuffie, Coe, and others setting the tone on the field, Dunn said the stadium will be a crown jewel in Kennesaw State’s athletics facilities.

“Having my name on that stadium and knowing that I helped push this thing forward, it gives me a great sense of pride,” he said. “When you put a bunch of great people together, anything can be accomplished.”

This article also appears in the current issue of Summit Magazine.

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Photo by Darnell Wilburn