Saint Martins Athletics

Christy Martin enters her fifth season at SMU, and for the second consecutive year her teams have had a winning season.  Martin who has a history of turning programs around has started to see the beginning of the program’s transformation.  In her inaugural season she signed Saniah Simpson the programs first ever freshman of the year.  The following year Claire Dingus  also won freshman of the year and two years later as a junior, Dingus became the first basketball player at SMU to receive the WBCA NCAA Coaches All-American Award.
 
In 2019-2020 Martin coached the Saints' first winning season since 2013-2014, defeating Western Washington for the first time in 12 years.  She had two GNAC All-Conference players, Bria Thames and Claire Dingus. Bria Thames was named GNAC Player of the Week three times, led the GNAC in rebounding, and broke the GNAC’s single-game rebounding record on the men’s and women’s side with 29 boards.  She was a NCAA woman of the year nominee for the GNAC.  In 2020-2021 she coached three-time GNAC player of the week and WBCA NCAA All-American Claire Dingus as well as Freshman Rian Clear was also named GNAC player of the week.
 
Prior to SMU, Martin coached at Tacoma Community College, hired mid-season, she inherited just six players, only two of those players were on scholarship. Despite the challenges during that season Martin was able to build a winning program in less than three years.  The team went from winning 4 games in her first season to 20 games in her 2014-2015 campaign.
She spent six years prior to TCC at Blue Mountain Community College building one of the worst women’s basketball programs in the NWAC ultimately coaching the two most successful seasons at Blue Mountain. 
 
For the first time in school history the 2011-2012 Timberwolves made the NWAC Tournament finishing 18-10 and upsetting the #1 seed in the first round.  In 2013-2014 despite being unranked, Martin led the T’wolves to the final four and a third-place finish in the NWAC for their highest placing and most wins in school history. BMCC finished the season 22-6.  Three players signed Division I scholarships in her final four years at BMCC, including former SMU graduate assistant Mar’Shay Moore, who played at The University of Oregon.
 
Martin has been successful turning programs around at the high school level as well.  She was hired at Liberty High School in Spangle Washington in 2004. The program had two wins prior to Martin’s arrival. In just three seasons, the Lancers won the Bi-County Championship, Regional Championship and District Championship while making it to state for the first time in 17 years.  In just three seasons as a high school head coach Martin compiled a 60-20 record.
Originally from Spokane, Martin assisted at Ferris HS in 2001-2002 placing 3rd at State, she served as an assistant the following year for Nationally Ranked Central Valley High School winning the GSL Championship, District Championship and finished 2nd at State.
 
Martin completed her Interdisciplinary Degree from Eastern Washington University and is currently working on her Masters in Higher Education & Student Affairs at Saint Martins.