Mike Martin to step down from FSU Baseball after the 2019 season

Heading into the season without a contract beyond 2018 speculation was that this was head baseball coach Mike Martin’s last year. However, after once again winning over 40 games on the year, capturing the title for the most wins in college baseball history and winning the ACC Baseball Tournament, Florida State has decided that Martin will return to the diamond for a final season in 2019.

The administration will spend the year searching for a replacement and they released an official statement this afternoon.

“Coach Martin and I have talked several times over the last couple of years about his plans,” Vice President & Director of Athletics Stan Wilcox said. “I am pleased to announce that he has agreed to coach one last team in 2019 before retiring at the conclusion of the season.”

The positive is that FSU has decided on a firm “move on” date from it’s long-time head coach. The baseball program has become quite stale at Florida State with little excitement around the program even though the ’Noles are continually ranked in the top 10.

Next season will act as celebration for 11 similar to what former Miami head coach, Jim Morris, did just this year.

At this time it is not clear if Florida State will hire a search firm nor what kind of coach the university might be looking for. It has been long assumed that Martin’s son, Mike “Meat” Martin Jr, would take over after his father retired but FSU is not limiting it’s search to current staff.

“We will conduct a national search at the conclusion of the 2019 season,” Wilcox said.

Also, what is not clear is how competitive FSU can and will be in a market that has seen college baseball coaching salaries rise across the nation while Martin’s has stayed fairly consistent.

Check back for more information on what this means for this year and beyond for FSU and what coaches Florida State might be interested in.