TEMPE, Ariz. — Another familiar face is coming back to help activate the Valley as former Basha Bear Cole Martin announced that he will transfer from Oregon to Arizona State.
Martin is yet another transfer with multiple years of eligibility coming to join ASU Head Coach Kenny Dillingham and the Sun Devils. After spending his freshman season in Eugene with the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl champion Ducks, Martin will have three years of eligibility remaining.
Before playing for the Ducks, Martin played his high school football here in the Valley.
He played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Hamilton before transferring to Basha for his junior and senior years, where he helped lead Basha to the 2022 Open Division state championship, the first football state title in school history.
Over the course of his high school career, Martin had 228 tackles, three-and-a-half tackles for loss, four interceptions, 33 pass breakups, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. He also spent time on special teams as a kick returner, where he returned three kickoffs and two punts for touchdowns.
Martin was named to the All-Friday Night Fever team twice (2021 and 2022) and was named to the 2023 All-American Bowl.
Martin was a four-star recruit out of high school and chose Oregon — where his father, Demetrice, is the cornerbacks coach nd passing game coordinator — over ASU, Arizona, Alabama, and Louisville. He had a total of 35 offers, according to 247Sports. Martin was recruited by Dillingham when ASU's head coach worked at Florida State.
He was ranked as the No. 1 cornerback and No. 5 overall recruit in Arizona, according to 247Sports.
Martin appeared in 11 games (including the Fiesta Bowl and Pac-12 Championship) for Oregon as a freshman this season, totaling 21 tackles (13 solo) and one pass breakup. Martin also had an interception, which happened at Mountain America Stadium against ASU on November 18.
Martin announced that he was entering the transfer portal after the Fiesta Bowl.
He is the third cornerback to transfer to ASU this offseason, along with Laterrance Welch from LSU and Javan Robinson from Washington State. He is the 17th member of ASU's 2024 transfer portal class, which is tied with Louisville for the third-largest transfer class in the nation. ASU had 17 players transfer out after the 2023 season.
ASU's 2024 transfer class is ranked No. 13 in the nation and No. 4 in the Big XII by 247Sports.
ASU 2024 Transfers
Transferring in:
- Long snapper Tyler Wigglesworth (From NAU)
- Tight End Cameron Harpole (From San Diego State)
- Quarterback Sam Leavitt (From Michigan State)
- Defensive End Justin Wodtly (From Cincinnati)
- Defensive Lineman J.P. Deeter (From Purdue)
- Safety Kamari Wilson (From Florida)
- Cornerback Javan Robinson (From Washington State)
- Linebacker Jordan Crook (From Arkansas)
- Running Back Raleek Brown (From USC)
- Cornerback Laterrance Welch (From LSU)
- Tight End Markeston Douglas (From Florida State)
- Linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu (From San Diego State)
- Offensive Lineman Joey Su'a (From Arkansas)
- Offensive Lineman Shancco Matautia (From New Mexico)
- Offensive Lineman Josh Atkins (From Hawaii)
- Linebacker Keyshaun Elliott (From New Mexico State)
- Cornerback Cole Martin (From Oregon)
Transferring Out:
- Safety Josiah Cox (Uncommitted)
- Wide Receiver Andre Johnson (Transferring to Miami (OH))
- Defensive End Ashley Williams (Transferring to Louisiana)
- Wide Receiver Shawn Charles (Uncommitted)
- Safety Shawn Russ (Transferring to Bethune-Cookman)
- Defensive Lineman B.J. Green (Transferring to Washington)
- Cornerback Isaiah Johnson (Uncommitted)
- Offensive Lineman Isaia Glass (Transferring to Oklahoma State)
- Wide Receiver Alonzo Brown (Uncommitted)
- Running Back Javen Jacobs (Uncommitted)
- Quarterback Drew Pyne (Uncommitted)
- Linebacker James Djonkam (Uncommitted)
- Defensive Back Jordan Clark (Transferring to Notre Dame)
- Tight End Jalin Conyers (Transferring to Texas Tech)
- Linebacker Dylan Devito (Uncommitted)
- Linebacker Will Shaffer (Committed to Utah State)
- DB Damon Williamson (Uncommitted)
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. The Coyotes play at Mullett Arena on ASU's Tempe campus.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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