Hall of Fame
Seth Martin was a three-time first-team all-conference and two-time All-American forward for the men’s basketball team from 1998-2001.
He is the first recruited player under current Vulcans head coach Bill Brown to be inducted into Cal U’s Hall of Fame.
“It was a shock and such great news when Coach Brown contacted me,” Martin said. “He was so excited on the phone and I have had such a long relationship with Coach and his family over the years which makes this just awesome.”
Martin made an immediate impact after transferring from Ohio University. As a sophomore, he averaged 16 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while shooting 57 percent from the floor.
The 1999 team was predicted to place fourth in the preseason coaches’ poll. Instead, Martin helped the Vulcans win the PSAC-West title with an 11-1 overall record and finish 24-6 overall.
In the post-season, the Vulcans rolled to double-digit conference tournament victories over Clarion, West Chester and Bloomsburg universities to win the program’s fourth PSAC championship in eight years.
Martin praised senior co-captains Eric Watson and Stewart Davis for his initial success and the team’s unexpected championship season.
“They were such accomplished players and they not only accepted me but helped me excel,” he said. “They were great teammates who simply wanted to win.
“It was not the most talented overall team during my three years at Cal but it was the best team because at mid-season we came together as a unit and had that cohesiveness you need to be very good.”
During his junior season Martin again led Cal U in scoring, averaging 16.3 points and six rebounds per game. The Vulcans won a third straight PSAC-West division title with a 10-2 mark in 2000.
As a senior Martin was Cal’s top scorer and rebounder, averaging 19 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while playing a team-high 30 minutes per game.
The 2001 team was the third-highest scoring team in the PSAC (78.8 ppg) and achieved the program’s 15th consecutive winning season. Martin led the league in field goal percentage (62.8 percent) and was third in scoring. He earned NABC second-team national All-American honors in his junior and senior seasons.
Martin finished with 1,459 career points, a total that ranks 10th in school history. More than a decade later, his career 59.5 field goal percentage (592-995) still stands at No. 11 in the PSAC record books.
Martin also produced a career total of 541 rebounds, 146 assists, 81 steals and 25 blocks.
His respect and admiration for Brown is evident.
“Coach made me love basketball again and is not the type of coach that’s going to get in your face and scream at you, “Martin said. “He’s definitely a player’s coach, the type of guy you want to play your best for and role model yourself after. He’s the coach that I am now where he treats players like they are his sons. At the end of the day they know he loves and care about them.”
When Brown came to Cal U in 1997, his son, Aaron, stayed with Martin’s family in Ohio during his senior year in high school before also joining the Vulcans.
“Seth Martin is part of my extended family as well as an outstanding player for California University,” Brown said. “Seth was a very humble young man with great skill who always found a way to win and took pride in wanting the ball with a game on the line. We are very proud to have him represent our program in the Hall of Fame.”
He earned his bachelor’s degree in Sport Management from Cal U in 2002 and is grateful for the support he received from Dr. Roy Yarbrough, professor and program director of the Sport Management program. Yarbrough’s son, Luke, was a team manager when Martin played.
“Dr. Yarbrough really helped me and I changed my major because he made me realize sport management was what I wanted to do,” Martin said. “He was a great mentor to me in finishing my degree.”
A 1997 graduate of his hometown’s Zanesville High School, Martin led the Blue Devils to Ohio’s Division I state title in 1995 and made a runner-up finish in his senior season. After earning special mention All-State honors as a sophomore, he was a third-team All-State pick in 1996 and a first-team choice in his senior season, when he was the 1997 runner-up for the Associated Press’ Ohio Mr. Basketball Award.
This summer Martin was named the head boys’ basketball coach at Westland High School in Galloway, Ohio, where he also works as an intervention specialist.
He had been the head coach for boys’ basketball at Lakewood (Ohio) High School for the past two seasons, and an assistant coach with the women’s basketball program at Muskingum University in the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons.
His coaching resume also includes stints as an assistant men’s coach at Slippery Rock and Shippensburg universities and an assistant coach for the boys’ team at Maysville High School in Zanesville.
“I am grateful for the coaches and many relationships I’ve been fortunate to have through basketball,” said Martin, who also mentioned former Cal U assistant coaches Dave Springer, Andy Moore and Shaka Smart. “I hope I can be there to help younger people like they and Coach Brown did for me.”
A proud alumnus, Martin brought his Lakewood team to Brown’s summer team camp and is looking to get his new team involved with the Martin Luther King Classic, which is held around that holiday in the Convocation Center.
“When we came to summer camp my Lakewood team was in heaven because the residence halls were like hotels,” Martin recalled. “I came to visit this past summer and Coach Brown took me into the new facility and it’s phenomenal. I always try to keep in touch and coming back for the Hall of Fame is special.”
Martin and his wife, Katie, reside in Zanesville with their three children: Cale, 10, Mia, 7, and Keynen, 5.
updated 10/10/13
