IMar To Illinois Completes Insanely Credentialed Coaching Staff

Mike Poeta adds two-time NCAA champion and four-time NCAA finalist Isaiah Martinez to decorated coaching staff.

Jun 10, 2022 by David Bray

IMar To Illinois Completes Insanely Credentialed Coaching Staff

Isaiah Martinez cemented himself as an Illinois legend when he capped an undefeated freshman season with an NCAA title in 2015. He followed that up with a second NCAA championship in 2016, then made the finals twice after that. Now, he's rejoined the Illini as the fourth member of Mike Poeta's coaching staff. Illinois announced the hire with the following article.

The addition of Martinez gives Illinois perhaps the most decorated coaching staff in terms of Big Ten and NCAA accolades. Martinez, Poeta, Ed Ruth, and Jeremy Hunter share 6 NCAA titles, 11 NCAA finals appearances, and 11 Big Ten titles.

Martinez returns to Champaign after spending the last two seasons as an Assistant Coach at Oregon State. He helped lead the Beavers to a 12th-place finish at this year's NCAA Championships, a 30-spot jump from their 42nd-place performance in 2021. The team included 8 NCAA qualifiers and four NCAA All-Americans.

In Corvallis, Martinez continued to pursue his World and Olympic dreams in addition to his coaching responsibilities. The highlight of his domestic freestyle career came when he was training in Illinois when he notced a victory over six-time World/Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs at Final X in 2019. Martinez was eliminated in the quarterfinals of this year's World Team Trials.

Martinez's breaks down his victory over Burroughs in 2019