Cullowhee, N.C. – Cemented as one of the most successful and most recognizable former Western Carolina University men's basketball players, Kevin Martin was today announced as the fifth member of the Southern Conference's Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
 
Martin joins UNCG's Paul Chelimo (cross country/track & field) and Ali Lord (women's soccer), Terry Holland of Davidson (men's basketball, admin), and former Furman football head coach Dick Sheridan, each announced earlier this week. The Class of 2024 is the 10th to be inducted into the SoCon Hall of Fame which now includes 59 members.
 
With his induction, Martin becomes the fourth Catamount to be enshrined into the SoCon Hall of Fame. He joins 2022 inductee Kirk Roach (football), former two-sport standout Wayne Tolleson (football, baseball) inducted in 2020, and Susan Gardner Mayhorn (cross country/track & field) who was in the Class of 2018.
 
Enshrined into the Western Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame in November 2019, Martin saw his No. 32 hung from the rafters in the Ramsey Center in his honor in a special ceremony on Dec. 9, 2023, joining other Catamount men's basketball greats Ronald Rogers (#15, 1949-53), Henry Logan (#10, 1964-68), and Mel Gibson (#20, 1959-63), and Jayne Arledge (#25, 1976-79) of women's basketball fame.
 
Signed by Western Carolina in late April 2001 as a high school senior after garnering second-team All-Ohio plaudits and finishing fourth in the voting for Ohio Mr. Basketball, the silky-smooth almost effortless playing style of Kevin Martin became synonymous with Catamount basketball over the next three seasons. The Zanesville, Ohio, product averaged over 20 points per game for three consecutive years before becoming WCU's first first-round draft pick in any of the major professional ranks including NBA, NFL, or MLB.
 
A three-time All-Southern Conference selection including twice named to the first-team, Martin finished his three seasons in the Purple & Gold third in the program's record books and currently ranks fourth all-time with 1,838 career points. He continues to rank among WCU's career leaders in 3-pointers made (10th, 174), 3-pointers attempted (7th, 503), free throws made (3rd, 534), free throws attempted (3rd, 635), free throw percentage (2nd, .841), steals (12th, 134), and overall scoring average (3rd-t, 23.3 ppg).
 
Martin led the Catamounts with a 22.1 point per game average as a true freshman, collecting Freshman All-America accolades as well as All-Freshman honors from CollegeInsider.com. Along the way, he set a WCU record by making 42 consecutive free throws while ranking second in the SoCon – and 11th nationally – in seasonal scoring average. As an encore in his sophomore season, Martin paced the SoCon in scoring and ranked 10th nationally at 22.8 points per game.
 
In his junior season, Martin was the only non-ACC member to be named to the 10-player All-District teams by both the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) as he led the SoCon with a 24.9 point per game average, a mark that ranked him second overall in the nation.
 
Martin was selected to the Southern Conference 100th Anniversary Team in 2021.
 
Drafted by the Sacramento Kings in the first round of the 2004 NBA Draft with the 26th overall pick – and the 14th college player selected overall – Martin played for the franchise from 2004 until 2010. He then spent two seasons with the Houston Rockets (2010-2012), a year with the Oklahoma City Thunder (2012-13), and three seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves (2013-16) before concluding his 12-year professional career with the San Antonio Spurs (2016), last playing in the 2016 NBA Playoffs.

He ultimately announced his retirement from the Association on Nov. 24, 2016, through a full-page ad in his hometown newspaper, the Zanesville Times Recorder.
 
During his professional playing career, Martin was regarded as one of the game's most dangerous shooting threats, especially from distance. The wiry guard shot 38.4 percent from beyond the 3-point arc for his career. Concluding his career with 12,396 career points, Martin averaged 17.4 points per game collectively including averaging 20 or more points per game six times including a career-best 24.6 points per game in 2008-09 with Sacramento. He connected on 43.7 percent of his field-goal attempts while finishing as a career 87 percent free-throw shooter, twice eclipsing the 90 percent shooting mark in a single season.
 
The son of Marilyn and Kevin, Kevin is married to the former Jill Arnold, wed in a ceremony in Florida in July 2011. The couple has two daughters, Anna Capri and Savannah Rose. Kevin has a brother, Jonathan, and grandparents, Maxine and the late Dallas Martin, Teena and Stanley Vigus, and the late John Norris.
 
The Executive Committee of the Southern Conference approved the creation of a Hall of Fame in May 2008 with the initial nominees sought from all 12 then-current member institutions, as well as the 31 athletic programs that were once SoCon members. The first induction ceremony was held on May 4, 2009, at the Chapman Cultural Center in Spartanburg.
 
Student-athletes who competed for a minimum of two seasons in the Southern Conference were eligible for consideration, along with coaches and administrators who spent at least five years in the league. A pool of more than 200 candidates from the conference's current and former member institutions were nominated for consideration. The pool of former student-athletes, coaches and administrators was cut down to 40 individuals who comprised the final ballot. A voting panel of 19 media members and league administrators along with fan voting made the selection of the induction class.
 
Southern Conference Hall of Fame – Class of 2024:
May 13 – Paul Chelimo, UNCG cross country/track & field
May 14 – Terry Holland, Davidson men's basketball/administration
May 15 – Ali Lord, UNCG women's soccer
May 16 – Dick Sheridan, Furman football
May 17 – Kevin Martin, Western Carolina men's basketball
 
WCU in the SoCon Hall of Fame:
2024: Kevin Martin (men's basketball)
2022: Kirk Roach (football)
2020: Wayne Tolleson (football, baseball)
2018: Susan Gardner Mayhorn (cross country/track & field)