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A college baseball player has entered the transfer portal with his team gearing up for a Super Regional series. He’s decided to bolt with the squad still playing for a national title!
John Martinez, a freshman infielder for the Florida Gators, has opted to leave the program prior to the conclusion of his first season. The timing of that news is certainly interesting.
Florida is fresh off an exciting regional performance in Stillwater where it knocked off both two-seed Nebraska and host Oklahoma State to emerge victorious.
Facing elimination on three different occasions, the Gators went a perfect 3-0 to successfully dispose of the competition and advance to the next round of postseason play.
They’ll now face off against Clemson next weekend as they travel up the East Coast for a three-game set.
John Martinez will not be on that trip it seems as he’s announced his decision to enter the transfer portal. While he’s yet to see the field in a Gators uniform, it’s a surprise to see the choice being made prior to season’s end.
Nick de la Torre of On3 Sports weighed in on the announcement.
Martinez is a talented young player who was just behind other older options the Gators had. Florida started Dale Thomas at third base until he struggled, then slid Tyler Shelnut, who started most of the season in left field but is a corner infielder by trade, to third.
Martinez has a lot of power potential and plays a good third base. He’ll should land at another Power 5 program and will have four years of eligibility at his new school.
The report notes the decision but doesn’t dive into why it was made – or why he picked this particular time to make the announcement.
Maybe the infielder is in search for more playing time, though de la Torre suggested that he might’ve seen the field more often in Year 2 as older players move on from the program.
Maybe Florida just wasn’t a good fit.
Whatever the case, it’s not the first time we’ve seen a move like this made. This past spring, an NC State basketball player hop in the portal just before the Wolfpack made an improbable run to the Final Four.
We’ll see if the Florida Gators make a deep run after Martinez’s portal decision.