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Frank Martin

Head Men's Basketball Coach
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Participates in 1 Session

Frank Martin enters his second season at the help of the Massachusetts men's basketball program in 2023-24. Martin was named the 23rd head coach in men’s basketball history in March of 2022.

The Minutemen opened Martin’s first season at the helm with a 7-1 record and a Myrtle Beach Invitational title. UMass’ midseason tournament championship run featured wins over Colorado, Murray State, and Charlotte while jumpstarting a six-game win streak for the Minutemen. The team also picked up a win over Hofstra at the Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational in the Barclays Center with Matt Cross claiming the MVP honor. Martin’s team recorded the largest true road win over an A-10 opponent by a UMass squad since February of 1996 with a 69-45 win at Rhode Island.

Martin brought 15 years of head coaching experience to Amherst after spending 10 seasons prior as the head coach at South Carolina, where he led the Gamecocks to the program's first ever NCAA Final Four in 2017.

Martin began his 10-year run in Columbia, S.C. prior to the 2014-15 season and went on to match the program's record for wins in a season as his team finished the 2015-16 campaign with a 25-9 record. The squad rose to as high as 15th in the USA Today Coaches Poll following the Gamecocks' best start since the 1933-34 season.

Under Martin, South Carolina broke the record for wins in a single season with 26 in 2016-17 on the way to the best NCAA Tournament run in program history. Martin led the Gamecocks to their first NCAA Tournament win since 1973 and to the program's first-ever Sweet 16, Elite Eight, and Final Four. The No. 7-seed squad defeated No. 2 seed Duke in the round of 32 and earned wins over Baylor in the Sweet 16 and Florida in the Elite Eight before falling to Gonzaga in the national semifinals.

He was named the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year. The Gamecocks were ranked in the AP Poll for nine weeks and the coaches poll for 10 weeks and finished as the No. 6-ranked team in the final USA Today Coaches Poll. Sindarius Thornwell was named a CBS Sports First-Team All-American and the NCAA East Regional Most Outstanding Player.

Martin got his first head coaching opportunity at Kansas State in 2007-08 and brought the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament in four of his five seasons at the helm. He guided the Wildcats to their first win over rival and No. 2-ranked Kansas since 1983 and took the team to its first NCAA Tournament since 1996.

In 2009-10, Martin led Kansas State to a 29-8 record and an Elite Eight appearance. The Wildcats earned their first win over a No. 1-ranked team in Texas since 1994 and finished the year ranked inside the top-10 in both major polls. Kansas State went into the 2010 NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed and defeated North Texas, BYU and Xavier in postseason play. He was recognized as the Big 12 Coach of the Year.

A Miami, Fla. native, Martin began his coaching career in the high school ranks in Miami, earning his first head coaching job at North Miami High School before moving to Miami Senior, where he led the team to three straight state championships. His first collegiate coaching job came in 2000 as he was named an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Northeastern University. From there, he joined Bob Huggins' staff at Cincinnati and was part of Huggins' coaching staff at Kansas State during the 2006-07 season.

A fixture off the court and in the community, Martin and his wife, UMass track and field alumna Anya (nee Forrest), have hosted numerous philanthropic events and have been key investors in the UMass women's track and field program. In 2019, Martin was introduced into the Naismith Coaches Circle that was created by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to recognize coaches who have impacted their communities, players, other coaches, and society in a positive manner.
 

Sessions in which Frank Martin participates