April 11, 2008

Cindy Martin Named Youngstown State Women’s Basketball Head Coach

    Youngstown, Ohio – Youngstown State University President Dr. David C. Sweet announced on Friday, April 11, the appointment of Cindy Martin as the Penguins’ fifth women’s basketball head coach in school history.

    Martin, who resurrected programs at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and West Virginia University, was named the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s (WBCA) 2007-08 Division II East Region Coach of the Year after posting a 27-5 record. She accumulated an overall record of 70-23 and a .753 winning percentage in three seasons at IUP and helped West Virginia to two postseason berths as the Mountaineers’ recruiting coordinator.

    YSU Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Ron Strollo said Martin’s on-court credentials are impressive and her commitment to student-athletes is impeccable. 

    “Cindy Martin embodies all of the essential characteristics and qualities that we were looking for in our next women’s basketball head coach,” Strollo said. “Not only does she bring a successful history as a head coach and proven track record of Division I recruiting experience, she has been an integral part of restoring and rebuilding two women’s basketball programs.

    “Coach Martin has also displayed a commitment to the shaping of the whole student-athlete from on-court successes to community service and academic excellence.”

    Martin said she is grateful for the opportunity to lead the Penguins’ program and enthusiastically accepts the challenges ahead.

    “I am honored to be the new head coach at Youngstown State University,” Martin said. “I am excited to rebuild this program with old fashion hard work and effort.

    Martin is also anxious to get started at Youngstown State.

    “There is a lot of work to be done this spring so that we get off to a great start next fall,” Martin added. “The first thing I want to do is get to know the ladies who are currently on the team.  

    "With six seniors and four juniors next season, it is very important that our coaching staff works with the student-athletes that have already committed to this program."     

      In 2007-08, IUP won a school-best 27 games claiming its second consecutive PSAC championship. The Crimson Hawks spent the entire season ranked in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA top 25 poll and climbed as high as fifth. IUP also finished the year ranked first in the East Region.

    During the 2006-07 season, Martin was named the PSAC West Coach of the Year after leading IUP to a mark of 24-9 and won its first PSAC West championship since 1988. The Crimson Hawks also earned the No. 3 seed in the East Region Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Division II Sweet 16.

    Martin guided IUP to a 19-9 mark during her inaugural season in 2005-06 and finished second in the PSAC West with an 8-4 division record after being picked to finish fifth in the preseason coach's poll. The 19 wins marked a nine-and-a-half game improvement from a 9-18 campaign in 2004-05, which is the seventh-highest increase in the history of Division II women’s basketball.

    Prior to IUP, Martin spent four years (2001-05) as the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Big East member West Virginia. Her efforts helped lead the Mountaineers’ program back to respectability, culminating in consecutive 21-win seasons during her final two years and a pair of postseason appearances.

    In 2003-04, the Mountaineers received an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 13 seasons. In March 2005, the team advanced to the championship game of the postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament.

    Martin helped assemble three-straight top 20 recruiting classes according to the All-Star Girls Report, including the class of 2003 which ranked fourth nationally.

    Among the players Martin recruited to West Virginia were Meg Bulger, the 2004 Big East Freshman of the Year, and Yolanda Paige, a second-round selection by the Indiana Fever in the 2005 WNBA draft.

    In 2003, Martin recruited 6-foot-5 center Yelena Leuchanka, the top-ranked junior college player in the nation by the All-Star Girls Report. Leuchanka is currently playing professionally overseas and spent the 2006 WNBA season playing for the Charlotte Sting.

    Prior to joining the West Virginia staff, Martin was an assistant coach in the junior college ranks in Florida, including one season each at Santa Fe (1999-00) and Seminole (2000-01). Her Seminole squad posted an overall record of 24-6 and went 8-0 in the Mid-Florida Conference.

    In the summer of 2001, Martin was chosen as head coach of Team Florida USA, an academically selected high school unit which toured Europe. That team went 14-2 and captured the Delfin Cup in Tampere, Finland.

    Martin also has experience at the high school level, serving as head junior varsity coach and varsity assistant at PK Yonge High School in Gainesville, Fla., in 1998-99.

    Martin also enjoyed a stellar college playing career. She spent two seasons at Flagler (Fla.) College where she was an all-conference and all-region point guard, averaging 17 points and 5.4 assists from 1995-97.

    She transferred to the University of Florida, where she was a member of the Gators Sweet 16 team in 1997-98.

    Martin is a 1999 graduate of the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in exercise and sport sciences from the College of Health and Human Performance. She is a native of Jacksonville, Fla., where her family currently resides.