The Tucson Star
A Dominican collegiate basketball player comes to add Latinity to the Wildcats women’s team.
On Wednesday, May 4, in the process of redefining the Arizona Wildcats roster, another Big 12 Conference star was added to the team. Esmery Martinez, a first-team All-Big 12 player at West Virginia in 2020-21, posted on social media that she is engaged to the Wildcats.
“The best is yet to come,” the Caribbean woman wrote in Spanish.
The 6-foot-2 guard/forward joins former Oklahoma State guard Lauren Fields, who, on Sunday night, April 30, announced she was joining the UA. The Wildcats have lost seven players through the transfer portal and a handful more through graduation since advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
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A native of the Dominican Republic, Martinez attended high school in Tennessee and played three seasons in West Virginia. Her best season came in 2020-21, when she averaged 13.6 points and 11.6 rebounds. Her numbers dropped to 11.3 points and 8.8 rebounds as a junior, though her 3-point shooting improved markedly. Martinez was 20-for-50 shooting for her, a year after shooting 9-for-30 on her way to second team in all leagues.
Martínez finished his WVU career with 25 double-doubles.
So as West Virginia forward Esmery Martinez takes aim over Lehigh forward Emma Grothaus during the first half of a game in March 2021. Esmery is one of the new Wildcats.
Ronald Cortes, Associated Press 2021
His commitment to Arizona surprises. Louisiana State University (LSU) announced on April 24 that it had signed Martinez. At the time, coach Kim Mulkey described Martinez as “a versatile player who can play a multitude of positions. Esmery is also a tenacious rebounder and defender and will fit right into our system in Baton Rouge,” she had said.
It’s unclear what prompted Martinez to change his mind.
