Pitt baseball hires Canon-McMillan grad Martin as assistant coach
By John Sacco
For the Observer-Reporter
newsroom@osberver-reporter.com
The results of his playing and coaching careers were off the charts.
Clearly, Clay Martin has made his pitch.
Martin, a Canon-McMillan High School and Washington and Jefferson College graduate, spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach at Seton Hill University where he was a driving force in the Griffins making three straight NCAA Super Regional appearances and clinching a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship in 2023.
That work led the Pitt Panthers to snag Martin, hiring Martin last week as the baseball program’s new assistant coach and director of pitching development.
“There was one name in the pitching world that kept coming up in our national search,” said Mike Bell, Pitt’s head coach. “It was an obvious choice and a natural fit. I truly feel that he is not just a diamond in the rough, but a rising star in today’s game. We are extremely excited to welcome Clay to the Pitt baseball program.”
The move up, especially with Pitt, was too much to pass on.
“I wasn’t necessarily looking and I feel very fortunate and blessed to be in the position I was,” Martin said. “I was at Seton Hill where we have a ton of resources. It’s a great program that Coach Marizzaldi has built over the past two decades. I was able to oversee the pitching staff and help with some of the recruiting. I wasn’t by any means unhappy. When the opportunity at Pitt presented itself, it was something that came to me, and it made sense for me personally from a career standpoint.
“It’s a boost to move up to D-I and for me to coach in the ACC. It was certainly an opportunity that was difficult to pass up.”
Seton Hill Coach Marc Marizzaldi said Martin “could not have been a better fit” and that he was a driving force in the Griffins success.
“I thought we absolutely hit the jackpot three years ago when we had an opening for a pitching coach and got Clay,” Marizzaldi said. “You know he came in here and immediately established himself and had great relationships with our players. Obviously, he had a huge impact on a lot of our players’ development. In three years, we had two players drafted.
“You can see from the output, you know from the results, that he’s brilliant at what he does on the pitching side and he’s recruited some fantastic kids and players to our team. The respect that he’s earned from our players and alumni and the rest of our campus is amazing. Hiring him was such a home run. On a personal level, I just feel privileged to have been part of his journey.”
In the three seasons, Martin helped Seton Hill win 129 games, including 18 postseason victories.
This past season, he helped Ian Korn earn first team All-American and multiple national pitcher of the year awards.
In Martin’s second season with the Griffins (2024), Seton Hill maintained a 3.70 ERA, which ranked fifth in the nation. On the mound, the Griffins had one all-region and two all-conference selections. Right-hander Aidan Layton, who earned multiple all-region honors, was selected in the 17th round of the 2024 MLB Draft by Oakland.
The Griffins earned their first NCAA Super Regional berth in Martin’s first year at Seton Hill.
His pitching staff led the Griffins to sweeping through the PSAC tournament. Martin’s staff had the second-best ERA (3.54) in the conference and fourth-best in NCAA Division-II. He had four pitchers earn all PSAC honors while three were named all-region.
Before coaching at Seton Hill, Martin, 28, was an assistant coach and director of baseball development/operations at Division-I Eastern Illinois for a season. Martin’s duties included player development with performed data aggregation, analysis and implementation with coaching staff and student-athletes.
A 2019 graduate of W&J, Martin was pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for Westminster College.
At W&J, Martin was a standout pitcher and helped the Presidents advance to two Division-III World Series appearances and an NCAA runnerup in 2017.
Martin made 52 appearances throughout his career and held the school records for saves in a career (13) – which was broken in 2023 — and owns the single-season saves mark with 12. In his four years with the program, Martin was a two-time All-Presidents Athletic Conference selection and earned honorable mention.
“Clay has always been a student of the game and is always upbeat with people,” said W&J coach Jeff Mountain. “He’s put a lot of effort and time in. I’m not surprised. People really gravitate to him; they like him. He’s innovative without being overbearing about it. He’s sharp.
“Clay had made his mark everywhere. Starting at Canon-McMillan then here as a player. I know that he is really well thought of as a person. I’m not surprised at all.”