Legendary Florida State baseball coach Mike Martin dies

Jun 19, 2019; Omaha, NE, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Martin meets with the press following the loss to Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 2019 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Former Florida State baseball coach Mike Martin has died.

Florida State Baseball shared the news of Martin’s death in a statement on Thursday. The legendary coach had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia three years ago. He was 79.

Today we mourn with the Martin family the passing of a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and baseball coach.

Rest in Peace, 11 pic.twitter.com/5cWLT3hcAj

— FSU Baseball (@FSUBaseball) February 1, 2024

Martin was the head coach at Florida State for 40 years from 1980-2019. His 2,029 wins are the most for any coach in the history of Division I college baseball.

Florida State made the NCAA Tournament in all 40 of Martin’s seasons as head coach. Though he never won a national championship, Martin’s 17 College World Series appearances are tied for the most of any coach. Martin led the Seminoles to the College World Series Finals in 1986 and 1999.

Martin was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019. Florida State’s baseball field was named Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium in Martin’s honor in 2005.

Martin played at Florida State in 1965 and 1966. He then went on to spend a brief time in the minors with the New York Mets and Detroit Tigers.

Martin first joined FSU as an assistant coach in 1975 before being promoted to head coach in 1980.