FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. Methodist University Vice President and Director of Athletics Dave Eavenson announced today that
Spencer Martin has been named head coach of the Monarch baseball program following a season in the interim role.
Martin enters his 17th season with the Methodist baseball program in the fall of 2026. He was elevated to interim head coach in the summer of 2025 following the retirement of longtime skipper Tom Austin and guided the Monarchs to a 19-24 overall record and a 13-8 mark in USA South Athletic Conference play. Methodist secured the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament and produced four All-Conference selections, two All-Region honorees, and one All-American under Martin's leadership.
Prior to assuming the interim role, Martin spent 15 seasons as a key member of the Monarch coaching staff, serving as pitching coach, head coach of the developmental team, and coordinator of recruiting efforts. During that span, Methodist captured three USA South Regular Season Championships (2015, 2018, 2025), two USA South Tournament Championships (2013, 2025), and made three NCAA Regional appearances (2013, 2015, 2025).
As pitching coach, Martin helped develop some of the top arms in program history. His pitchers earned one ABCA All-America honor, six ABCA All-South Region selections, 14 USA South All-Conference honors, three USA South Pitcher of the Year awards, three USA South All-Tournament Team selections, three USA South Rookie Pitcher of the Year honors, and two ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove awards. Additionally, three former Monarch pitchers advanced to professional baseball.
Martin's coaching experience extends beyond Fayetteville. He previously served as an assistant coach at Methodist in 2009, helping guide the Monarchs to a second-place finish in the USA South while coaching both the conference's Rookie Pitcher of the Year and a First Team All-Conference performer.
In 2010, Martin joined the staff at Penn State Greater Allegheny as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator under current Gardner-Webb head coach Jim Chester. There, he helped lead the program to a PSUAC Championship and a berth in the USCAA National Tournament while mentoring the PSUAC Pitcher of the Year and a USCAA All-American.
Martin has also spent two summers coaching in collegiate summer baseball. In 2009, he served as pitching coach for the Albany Dutchmen of the New York Collegiate Baseball League, and in 2010, he was pitching coach for the K.I.T. League champion Tradewater Pirates.
A native of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Martin is a former Monarch student-athlete who earned four letters as a pitcher and undergraduate assistant coach. He still holds the Methodist program record for consecutive strikeouts, retiring 11 straight batters via strikeout in 2005. During his playing career, Martin was a four-time USA South Academic All-Conference selection, the recipient of the 2006 Bobby Bell Award for Good Works, and the 2008 Courageous Monarch Award.
Martin graduated with honors from Methodist in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. He has worked numerous college baseball camps, showcases, and clinics throughout the East Coast and remains an active member of the American Baseball Coaches Association.
