Piedmont College Women's Softball

Martins Lady Lions have posted an incredible run of 175-74 with four NCAA National Tournament appearances, three conference tournament titles, and four conference regular season championships.   Martin has spent every season in his career as a head coach leading Piedmont tallying an overall record of 415-267-1 (.609 winning percentage) with now his more than 400 victories putting him just outside the nations top 50 in winningest active Division III head coaches by win total. With an outstanding mark of 13 seasons of at least 20 wins, four with 30-plus, and 2014s 40-plus wins, the longtime PC skipper is also a six-time conference Coach of the Year having notched the award in 2001, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2014.   Under his steady leadership having coached the Lady Lions in close to 700 total contests, the softball program has earned five NCAA tourney appearances (2006, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014) overall.  In their last three NCAA showings, the Lady Lions have ousted several regional favorites and nationally ranked opponents to post three straight regional finalist finishes earning some of the athletic departments best post-season finishes in its NCAA affiliation.   Martin also has eight conference regular-season championships (2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014), four conference tournament titles (2005, 2010, 2011, 2014), and three National Christian College Athletic Association National Championship appearances (2004, 2005, 2006) where the Lady Lions finished in third place nationally during the 2006 season. In addition to his teams success on the field, Martins groups have been just as consistent with their work in the classroom having ranked nationally in the top ten of the NFCA Division-III Team Academic Award three times (2003, 2008, 2009) including a runner-up finish in 2009. Eleven Lady Lions have garnered the NFCAs top individual academic award as All-American Scholar-Athletes during Martins tenure as well.   The 2015 season saw Martins Lady Lions post a 17-14 overall record including a 13-11 mark in USA South play making another appearance in the leagues postseason championship tournament.  Five Lady Lions earned All-Conference honors while Piedmont softball saw its second Capital One Academic All-American as well with Abby Smith taking the honor in addition to NFCA All-Region status.   Martin also saw his success with mentoring some of the best players in the league continue as well as he developed a second USA South Rookie of the Year in three seasons with Jessica Bagwell earning the spot this past season.  Martin saw youngster Olivia Duncan earn the same honor two years previous and has also seen a Pitcher and Rookie Pitcher of the Year with a Lady Lion earning a major individual All-Conference award in each of Piedmonts three seasons as a USA South member so far.   Piedmonts 2014 season was arguably the best in the long storied history of Lady Lion softball with the team going 43-8 overall including a nearly perfect 23-1 mark in USA South action that saw PC win the leagues regular season title for the second straight season.  The Green and Gold put together an 18-game winning streak during the regular season, but that accomplishment paled when compared to the six straight Piedmont had to win after a loss to open the 2014 USA South Championship Tournament with the half dozen consecutive wins handing PC the USA South tournament crown.   Six Lady Lions were named All-Conference in 2014 led by the league Pitcher of the Year in sophomore Jordin Ellingson.  Ellingson was one of four NFCA All-Region selections as well along with teammates Brittney Head, Olivia Duncan, and Laura Carter.  On the leagues Academic All-Conference listing released over the summer, 16 Lady Lions were named to the prestigious list as well.   The 2014 season also saw Piedmont climb to new heights in the NFCA National Poll debuting at #13 in the preseason poll while climbing as high as 7th following its dramatic run at the USA South championships.  After two wins over nationally ranked competition and the teams season-ending loss to regional champs Emory, Piedmont finished the season ranked #21 in the country.   In 2014, Martins program also saw its first ever Capital One Academic All-American in senior pitcher Brittney Head who claimed the honor after two other Lady Lions from the program had already earned All-District status in previous seasons.  Head was one of four Capital One Academic All-Americans from Piedmont in the 2013-14 academic year.   In 2013, Piedmonts softball program experienced another banner year with a 34-10 overall record with its 34 wins representing the best single season win total to that point in Martins 15-year tenure with the team.  As Piedmont debuted in the USA South Athletic Conference in 2012-13 wrapping up a 12-year affiliation with the Great South Athletic Conference, Martins team made a splash right away winning a share of the regular season title and earning an at-large berth to the NCAA National Tournament, making softball one of just four Piedmont programs to have been selected at-large for the NCAA tourney.   Having made it to the national tourney four times over the last five seasons, Martins squad has not just made the field at the NCAAs as they have also made some noise when making it to the national stage.  His 2013 team earned a regional finalist finish, the second of three straight showings for Piedmont softball at a NCAA competition, knocking off a pair of nationally ranked opponents to do so including in-state foe and national power Emory University who was at the time #4 in the country.  PCs late season push helped the team to its own national ranking to end the year coming in at #15 in the final National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) poll.   The USA South Rookie Player and Pitchers of the year also came from Piedmont in 2013 with Olivia Duncan and Jordin Ellingson taking home the awards respectively as seven Lady Lions earned All-Conference awards.  Duncan also joined teammates Megan McClain and Brittney Head as NFCA All-Region award winners as well continuing the successful regional individual recognition under Martin from the coaches organization.   For Martin, his 2012 season was a historic one as well in his decorated coaching career as his 22-15 team included the coachs 300th career win with a 5-1 victory over Truett-McConnell on February 21st, 2012.  His team put up a 13-3 record in conference play during the schools last year competing in the GSAC with five players making the All-Conference listing and nine earning All-Academic team honors from the league.   The 2011 Lady Lions represented the tenth season of his first 13 at the helm with at least 20 wins as Martin was named the GSAC Coach of the Year for the second time in as many years.  His squad put up a 30-15 overall record that included three victories in the NCAA Regional held in Cortland, NY to finish as the runner-up of that regional.  The team also made headlines early in the season by cracking into the nations top 25 ranked teams taking the #21 spot in the March 2nd poll from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.   In addition to claiming the GSAC regular season title by a virtue of a two-game sweep over rival Maryville College at home and taking the leagues tournament crown care of five straight victories in the elimination bracket, Martins 2011 squad also earned their share of individual accolades as well.  The team boasted the conference Freshman of the Year as one of five All-Conference selections to go with a league-leading nine All-Academic honorees while a trio of Lady Lions earned All-Region distinction from the NFCA.  During the 2010 campaign, Martins Lady Lions posted an overall mark of 29-12 including a 10-2 record in GSAC play to earn the number one seed for the championship tournament. PC then claimed its most dramatic of the programs titles with an eighth inning walk-off homer in the tournament final against defending champion LaGrange College to claim its first conference tournament title since 2005 and a berth in the NCAA Division III South-Atlantic Regional in Newport News, VA. To wrap up the 2010 season, Martin placed four Lady Lions on both the GSAC All-Conference and All-Freshman teams while mentoring the conference Pitcher of the Year. Regional accolades also poured in as the skipper had a player voted to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region team while his team garnered national attention finishing the season nationally ranked in NCAA-III in both earned run average (19th) and stolen bases per game (12th). In 2008, he guided Piedmont to a 28-13 mark and the Great South Athletic Conference regular season title. Finishing as the runner-up in the GSAC championship tournament, two members of the team also notched individual conference recognition as the Player and Pitcher of the Year while PC placed three on the All-Conference Team. Martin was the architect behind the 2006 campaign that helped his Lady Lions rewrite the record books as the team earned the program's first-ever NCAA Division-III National Championship appearance with a fourth-place finish at the South-Atlantic Regional in Salem, VA. The Lady Lions finished with a then-school record 33 wins while posting a remarkable .750 winning percentage, one of the winningest seasons in the programs history. As a native of Toccoa, GA, Martin traveled north to New York earning his undergraduate degree from NCAA Division II member Nyack College where he was an All-Conference and All-American catcher for the Warriors. Martin also holds a masters degree from the United States Sports Academy located in Mobile, AL. Martin still calls Toccoa home residing in the nearby North Georgia community with his wife, the former Robin Cash. The oldest of the couples two sons, Ethan, was a 2008 first round (15th overall) Major League Baseball draft pick and has spent time over the past three seasons pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies organization making his major league debut on August 2, 2013 against the Atlanta Braves. The Martins youngest son, Cody, was also a MLB draft pick going to the Minnesota Twins in 2009 but chose to pursue his education first and finished up his collegiate playing days at NCAA Division I member College of Charleston where he also made a splash with a game-winning, pinch-hit three homer on opening day in his debut season with the Cougars.   Season at Piedmont: Alma Mater: Record at PC: Overall Record: ^The 1999 season marked the beginning of Piedmont's fast-pitch softball program.  "Terry Martin has done an outstanding job during his tenure at Piedmont.  I have observed his work firsthand and have followed his career closely.  I feel that his record speaks for itself. During my career, I have also had the pleasure of working with Coach Martin at numerous camp and clinics throughout the southeast.  I can personally attest to his skills as both a teacher of the game and a coach.  I am proud to have him serve as the head softball coach at my Alma Mata."      -Scott Whitlock, Kennesaw State University     Senior Associate Athletic Director     Former KSU Head Softball Coach