WBCA Honors Martinez as NAIA National Coach of the Year
ATLANTA – TU’s women’s basketball head coach, Jody Martinez, was selected as the 2019 United States Marine Corps/WBCA NAIA National Coach of the Year, as announced by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association on Tuesday.
Martinez was one of only two NAIA Division II coaches chosen as finalists for the award, before earning the WBCA recognition that honored the top coach between both divisions in the NAIA.
The 2018-2019 campaign has been a historic one for the women’s basketball program. Martinez has led the squad to a program record 30 wins and an 85.7 winning percentage. In addition, the team posted a 22-game winning streak, while advancing into the Elite Eight of the NAIA Tournament.
The TU squad topped the Crossroads League, notching the regular season title for the first time since 1996 with a program record 16 league victories. The tournament championship also fell the way of the Trojans for the first time in over 20 years. Martinez helped the team tackle stiff competition throughout the season, taking down 10 foes ranked inside the top 25.
Martinez has found immediate success at Taylor, leading the team to one of the best two-year stretches in program history. In just his second year at the helm, Martinez has helped TU to back-to-back NAIA National Tournament appearances, including three wins in those appearances, a program record position of No. 6 in the NAIA Top 25 and a 54-16 overall record for a program-best 77.1 winning percentage.