A Connecticut native, Coach Martinez brings professional baseball experience and a boarding school background to both the Athletics Department and Admissions Office at Gunn. Prior to joining Gunn in September as an Admissions Associate, Head Coach for Varsity Baseball, and Athletics Operations Coordinator, Martinez played first base for the Oakland Ballers, and led the MLB partner league team in homeruns, RBIs, and OPS.
During the Baller’s inaugural season, Martinez played under manager Micah Franklin, third base coach Aaron Miles, who played with the 2006 World Series-winning St. Louis Cardinals, and first base and bench coach J.T. Snow, who played in the 2002 World Series with the San Francisco Giants. Martinez is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where he played and started in 55 games for the Panthers while earning a bachelor’s degree in sociology. He spent three seasons on the roster of the NCAA Division I Men’s Baseball Team at Central Connecticut State University, where he earned First Team All-Northeast Conference honors, “playing in 87 games over the last two and hitting .309 with 107 hits, 16 doubles, three triples, 22 home runs, 99 RBIs and 69 runs scored,” according to Pitt.
Martinez graduated from New Milford High School and completed a post-graduate year at Hotchkiss School, where he earned all-region honors playing for the Bearcats prior to being recruited to West Point to play baseball. His coaching philosophy centers around cohesiveness and camaraderie, and through his work in the Admissions Office, he is seeking to bring students to Gunn who will enhance the baseball program and the school. “At Gunn, we look for students who are multidimensional,” he said. “They are risk-takers, and they have many talents and interests. That’s what we embody as a school.”