Martinez’s hiring at Georgia junior college puts Arizona Wildcats as head coaches at 33

The hits keep coming for former Arizona softball players elevated to head coaching status.

UNLV’s hiring Thursday of former Arizona softball standout Kristie Fox brought to mind once again the large number of Wildcat athletes overall who hold a head coaching position.

Another former Mike Candrea-coached player at Arizona — Jennifer Martinez — was recently hired as the head coach at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, a junior college in Tifton, Ga.

Fox and Martinez are two of 33 former Arizona athletes who are a head coach.

Fox was the head coach at Texas-Arlington from 2012 before leaving to head the Running Rebels’ program.

Thank you @UTAMavsAD for taking a chance five years ago on a young coach and helping me learn and grow in this business.

— Kristie Fox (@kfox29) July 21, 2017

So overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support today! #gorebs

— Kristie Fox (@kfox29) July 21, 2017

Eight former Arizona players who excelled under Candrea are now head coaches either in college or high school.

One other former player who became a coach, Leticia Pineda-Boutté, who played at Arizona from 1995-98, resigned last May after 11 seasons at Washington-St. Louis.

Kristie Fox is in the middle of this photo with Caitlin Lowe on the left and Chelsie Mesa on the right, celebrating the 2006 NCAA title.

Fox, Debby Day and Martinez coach at the college level. Day, who played at Arizona from 1989-91, has coached Cal-Lutheran since 2002. Martinez, with Arizona in 2008 as a redshirt and 2009 as a senior after transferring from Cal State Dominguez Hills, starts her position at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on Aug. 1.

Former Arizona pitcher Jennifer Martinez was recently hired as the head coach at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Ga.

“I am so beyond excited for this opportunity,” Martinez said in a press release. “I have been dreaming of being a head coach my entire life.

“I want to remind the players that they are not too old to be students of the game. I don’t know everything about the sport, and I’m still learning alongside them. This will be a year of growth and figuring out ways to keep them motivated and engaged in the game. I know every coach’s goal is to win but I also want to make it fun for my team and help them to remember why they play.”

Five of Candrea’s former players coach at the high school level: Amy Baray-Rocha, Salpointe Catholic; Jackie Coburn, Scottsdale Horizon; Krista Humphreys, Corona (Calif.) Centennial; Danielle Rodriguez, Tucson; and Jody Pruitt, Peoria Sunrise Mountain.

FORMER ARIZONA ATHLETES AS CURRENT HEAD COACHES

High school boy’s basketball (3)

[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Mike Bibby,1996-98,Phoenix Shadow Mountain,2014
Kelvin Eafon,1995-98,Pueblo,2014
Jason Stewart,1997-99,Encinitas (CA) San Dieguito,2014
[/table]

Men’s college basketball (4)

[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Jason Gardner,1999-03,IUPUI,2014
Craig McMillan,1984-88,Santa Rosa (CA) JC,2000
Josh Pastner,1996-00,Georgia Tech,2016
Damon Stoudamire,1992-95,Pacific,2016
[/table]

Men’s professional basketball (4)

[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Matt Brase,2003-05,Rio Grande (D-League),2015
Reggie Geary,1992-96,Nagoya (Japan),2015
Steve Kerr,1983-88,Golden State (NBA),2014
Luke Walton,1999-03,L.A. Lakers (NBA),2016
[/table]

College baseball (2)

[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Tod Brown,1990-94,North Dakota State,2007
Bill Kinneberg,1979-80,Utah,2005
[/table]

Professional baseball (2)

[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Shelley Duncan,1999-01,Class A Visalia (CA),2017
Terry Francona,1977-80,Cleveland (MLB),2013
[/table]

Women’s college basketball (2)

[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Brenda Frese,1989-93,Maryland,2002
Adia Barnes,1995-99,Arizona,2016
[/table]

High school football (8)

[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Marcus Bell,1996-99,Eager Round Valley,2011
Robert Bonillas,1995-98,Desert View,2012
Andy Litten,1999-2000,Marana,2011
Mark Keel,1979-82,Silverdale (WA) Central Kitsap,2000
Scott McKee,1999-02,Sahuaro,2009
Clarence McRae,2003-04,Mountain View,2012
Antonio Pierce,1999-00,Long Beach Poly,2014
Brandon Sanders,1995-98,Pueblo,2014
[/table]

College softball (3)

[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Debby Day,1989-91,Cal-Lutheran,2002
Kristie Fox,2004-07,UNLV,2017
Jennifer Martinez,2008-09,Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College,2017
[/table]

High school softball (5)

[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Amy Baray-Rocha,1999,Salpointe,2015
Jackie Coburn,2002-05,Scottsdale Horizon,2013
Krista Humphreys,1993-96,Corona (Calif.) Centennial,2015
Danielle Rodriguez,2006-08,Tucson,2010
Jody Pruitt,1990-93,Peoria Sunrise Mountain,2011
[/table]

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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.

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