Martin is a Florida State graduate and has been associated with the school's baseball program for 33 of its 58 seasons. He spent two seasons as a Seminole outfielder, five as an assistant coach and is now entering his 26th year running the program. Of the 3,071 baseball games played in pro-gram history, Martin has been involved in 2,178. Even more impressive is the fact that he has been involved in 1,622 of FSU's 2,233 all-time victories. That's almost 73% of Florida State's victories have come with Martin as a part of the program.

Martin just completed his 25th season at the helm of the Seminole baseball program and 2004 ended just like his past 24 seasons before it, with the team once again competing in NCAA Tournament play. Only one team in America has been to more consecutive NCAA Tournaments than the Seminoles who have now made 27 straight postseason appearances. Since 1990, no team has finished in the top 10 more times than FSU's 13 top 10 finishes and no other program has come close to compiling as many 50-win seasons as Martin's 11 50-win campaigns in the last 14 years. No team in America has been to more NCAA Tournaments in that span either.

Over the last 14 years, FSU is second in College World Series appearances with eight and Martin has led his teams to Omaha 12 times in his career including 11 trips in the last 19 seasons. The Tribe coach is second in the NCAA among active DI coaches for winning percentage, seventh all-time in Division I for wins and fifth in that category among active coaches. Martin is one of just eight coaches in the history of DI baseball to record 1,300 wins and he is a four-time ACC Coach of the Year. Martin has coached 13 first round draft picks, 55 All-Americans and 101 All-Conference selections during his career. Three Seminoles have also won the Golden Spikes Award under Martin.

Last season FSU captured its fourth ACC Championship under Martin in what is widely considered the best baseball conference in America. Martin also saw five more of his players drafted including the 14th first round pick of his 25-year career as FSU's head coach when Stephen Drew who was taken 15 th by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Consensus All-American Eddy Martinez-Esteve was a second round pick of the San Francisco Giants as well and he also garnered the 27th first team All-American honors under Martin's watch. Martin coached two more freshman All-American's as well in Ryne Malone and Brian Schultz. Raising Martin's total to 31freshman All-Americans during his tenure once again proving the legendary coach not only brings the nation's best talent to Tallahassee he continues to develop players once they arrive on campus.

Florida State continued its post season success again in 2004. The squad's run to Super Regional play last season was its sixth straight trip. The Seminoles have played in a Super Regional every year since the NCAA went to the current for-mat. The team finished in the top 15 of the national rankings for the 11 th straight year and Martin passed another career mile-stone when he notched victory 1,300 less than a month into the season.

The 2004 Seminoles were one of the youngest teams Mar-tin had ever guided but that didn't stop the legendary coach from once again getting his squad to not only reach but even exceed its potential. The Seminoles not only surpassed 40 wins for the 25th straight year under Martin they swept three ACC series during the regular season and won two others highlighted by a series win over the 11th -ranked Clemson Tigers. Florida State also went 5-1 at the ACC Tournament capped off by back-to- back wins over No. 5 Georgia Tech to sow up the conference crown. The Seminoles then hosted an NCAA Regional for the eighth consecutive season where they lost just one game and outscored their opponents 37-15 on the way to a Super Regional berth versus Arkansas.

Success in the postseason is nothing new to Martin. The 2003 Seminoles added another 50-win season to the record books and advanced to NCAA Super Regional play before falling to defending national champion Texas. The team featured eight players that were selected in the MLB Draft, including All-American catcher Tony Richie who was a fourth round pick of the Chicago Cubs. The squad also extended FSU's streak of top 10 finishes to 10 seasons, the longest current run in the nation. The Seminoles finished as the ACC regular season champs for the third straight year.

Despite losing in the final game of the Super Regional to Notre Dame, Martin's 2002 squad will always be one of his all-time favorites. Led by All-American Ryan Barthelemy, that team put together a list of accomplishments that had never before been reached. The Seminoles swept three games at Miami and did the same later in the year at Clemson. Both sweeps were firsts for the FSU program. The three-game sweep of then-No. 1 Clemson at the end of the regular season gave the Seminoles the ACC regular season title and the top seed in the ACC Tournament. The 2002 club didn't stop there, winning all five games in St. Petersburg to take home the ACC Tournament Championship. The school record winning streak would reach 25 games as the team swept through NCAA Regional play.

The 2001 squad finished the year one game short of a fourth straight College World Series appearance. Martin was named ACC Coach of the Year for the fourth time since FSU joined the league in 1992 after leading the team to the regular season title. Slugging outfielder John-Ford Griffin was a Golden Spikes Award finalist, a consensus All-American, the ACC Player of the Year, and Martin's 11th first round draft pick. Martin seems to outdo his accomplishments every season. His 2000 club was the 19th to reach the 50-win plateau in his 22-year career. After defeating Miami in the NCAA Super Regional to earn a College World Series berth, the 2000 Seminoles rallied from an opening round loss to advance to the final four in Omaha before losing to eventual national champion LSU.

Martin was named ACC Coach of the Year in 1999 after his team won the ACC regular season with a 22-2 mark, the best regular season record in conference history. The Seminoles went on to finish second in the country with an impressive CWS showing. Marshall McDougall, who earlier in the season set the NCAA record with six home runs in single game, was named the CWS Most Outstanding Player.

The Seminole skipper earned his 1,000th victory in a 4- 3 decision over Jacksonville on April 9th, 1998. He became the second-fastest head coach to reach the 1,000-win mark in NCAA Division I baseball history. Former FSU players, friends and Bullpen Club members honored Martin for his 1,000th win with a special ceremony and diamond-studded gold Rolex watch. Martin also garnered ACC Coach of the Year distinction from his peers for his efforts that season.

Martin guided his 1997 squad to the Seminoles' second Atlantic Coast Conference Championship. That team was led by a pitching staff that hurled four complete games in a five-game ACC Tournament sweep.

In 1996, FSU's 19-5 ACC record and first-ever first place conference finish in the regular season earned Martin his first ACC Coach of the Year honor. His squad made history as they put together a then-FSU record 22-game wining streak and traveled to the College World Series for the third consecutive season, the first three-year streak in school history.

Martin has become a familiar face in Omaha, as he has guided 12 teams to the College World Series including six of his past 11 squads. Seminole teams have been invited to the NCAA Regionals 26 consecutive years, including 24 under Martin's direction. He ranks second among the nation's winningest active Division I coaches and ninth among winningest all-time Division I coaches with a .750 percent-age and 1,293 victories entering the 2004 season.

Martin's brilliant career has meant more than just wins on the baseball diamond. The 2001 team got a first-hand reminder of that prior to a series at Stanford. Leaving the San Francisco airport, Martin and then-assistant coach Chip Baker gained control of the team's charter bus after the driver suffered a fatal heart attack and safely guided it to the side of a busy highway. Martin and Baker were presented with the university's prestigious Westcott Award for their bravery in saving the lives of players and staff. There's no question that the Seminoles' outstanding character in the most difficult of times stems directly from their head coach.

When the skinny kid from Charlotte transferred to FSU from Wingate Junior College in 1965 to play center field for the Seminoles, it was the beginning of a love affair that has never ended. His love for the game of baseball is matched only by the success he has had teaching it to aspiring players. He teaches the game with a fire and drive that has given Florida State perhaps the nation's very best all-around college baseball program.

From the new facilities to the coaching staff to the un-equaled community support, Mike Martin has improved an already strong Seminole baseball tradition with every sea-son. Just when it seems that the program can reach no higher plane, something bigger and better comes along. When Martin took over in 1980, it was taboo to mention the word Omaha around the ball club. No one wanted to jinx an FSU team that had made it to the College World Series only three times in the previous 16 seasons. After taking the Seminoles to that hallowed ground in his very first season, Martin would eventually make Omaha not only a household word, but a second home to the Seminoles. Martin has led the Tribe to the CWS nine times in the last 15 seasons.

Martin won 50 or more games his first 12 seasons at the helm, interrupted by 49 and 46-win seasons in 1992 and 1993. He has added nine more 50-win seasons since to bring the total to 21, including a 60-win season in 2002 that tied the ACC single season victory record. The numbers Martin and his FSU teams have posted are monumental. With seven more wins, he will become only the eighth coach in the history of the game to record 1,300 victories.

Martin's succeeding of Dick Howser as FSU head coach seemed a perfectly logical step in 1979. As a player in 1965- 66, Martin hit .354 in two seasons as the starting center fielder for the Seminoles. He was a part of the 1965 College World Series team and earned all-district honors in his senior season. Martin then went on to play professionally in the New York Mets and Detroit Tigers organizations for three years prior to embarking on his career as a coach.

Martin began his career as a baseball and basketball coach at the junior high level. He served as head basketball coach at Tallahassee Community College before spending four seasons as basketball coach at Tallahassee's Godby High.

When Woody Woodward became FSU head baseball coach in 1975, he quickly called on Martin to assist him. He served as the No. 1 assistant under Woodward for four years and one under Dick Howser. When New York Yankees boss George Steinbrenner called Howser in November 1979, Martin was the obvious choice. Since that day in 1979, there has been no doubt that Mike Martin and Seminole baseball has been a perfect match.

For Martin, it's a dream come true. He would be the first to tell you his current position is his ultimate thrill. Martin has compiled a 1,293-429-4 record and has won more games than all of Florida State's former head baseball coaches combined. Seminole baseball teams have participated in the NCAA Tournament every year under Martin - 24 consecutive seasons. That run, on the heels of appearances in 1978 and 1979, gives FSU 26 consecutive tournament trips - the second longest streak in the country. Martin has been involved in 14 of the 18 College World Series trips that Florida State has made all-time, as a player, assistant coach and head coach.

Martin says his years around FSU coaches like Fred Hatfield, whom he played for in 1965-66, Woodward and Howser (both of whom he coached under) instilled in him the desire to pro-duce winners on and off the playing field. Stepping out of their shadows, Martin has built his own legacy in Tallahassee.

During his tenure, 54 different players have earned All-America honors, 96 have been named to all-conference teams and an incredible 106 players have signed professional contracts. In 1999, second baseman Marshall McDougall was a consensus All-American, a finalist for the Golden Spikes and Dick Howser Awards, and the ACC Player of the Year after win-ning the conference's triple crown. Center fielder J.D. Drew took home consensus All-American honors in 1997, as well as player of the year awards from Baseball America, The Sporting News, and Collegiate Baseball. Drew also became the first Semi-nole to win the Dick Howser Award, named after FSU's former All-American and head coach. Three of Martin's Seminoles (Mike Fuentes, Mike Loynd and Drew) have won the Golden Spikes Award, honoring the nation's best amateur baseball player. Florida State, Arizona State and Cal State Fullerton lead the nation with three Golden Spikes winners apiece.

Martin's success on and off the field led to the coach being honored by his two former schools in 2004. The legendary FSU baseball coach was named a Distinguished Alumnus at Wingate University where he went to school for two years before com-ing to Florida State and earning his degree in 1966. Florida State also bestowed an honor on the coach when he was named a recipient of the Bernard F. Sliger Award for Service. The Sliger Award, named for the eleventh president of the University, is the single highest honor accorded by the Alumni Association. It recognizes a member of the University community who has, through their efforts, made a major contribution toward the fulfillment of the mission of the University.

A popular speaker, Martin has delivered keynote ad-dresses at several state and national meetings, including gatherings of the Florida High School Coaches Association, Atlanta Braves instructional clinics and Seminole booster clubs throughout the Southeast. He is also in demand as a speaker at churches and is active in national and local Fellowship of Christian Athletes activities.

A 1966 graduate of Florida State, Martin earned his master's degree in 1971. He and wife Carol have three children, Mary Beth (34), Melanie (28) and Mike, Jr. (30), a former starting catcher and current assistant coach at Florida State. Mary Beth and husband Tom Buchanan are the parents of Martin's first grandchild -- Hannah Elizabeth (5). Mike, Jr. and his wife Litzie are the parents of Martin's second and third grandchildren -- Tyler (3) and T.J. (1).
 

Shouppe has been the catalyst in attracting top caliber talent to Florida State since taking over as the recruiting coordinator in 1990. The former FSU player has had a top 25 ranked class every year he has been at FSU and 11 of his 13 classes have been ranked in the top 10 with half being in the top five. Baseball America ranked his 1992 class No. 1 in the country. More recently, the 2002 group headlined by Eddy Martinez-Esteve and Mark Sauls garnered a No. 4 national ranking.

In 1993, the former Seminole hurler added the role of pitch-ing coach to his duties with equal success. Under Shouppe's tutelage, the Florida State pitching staff has been among the nation's best. In 2003, the Seminoles again led the ACC with a team ERA of 2.96 which was good for fourth in the NCAA. The Seminoles have now been ranked either first or second for staff ERA in the ACC 11 of the past 12 years and have never been lower than fourth in team ERA.

Five of Shouppe's pitchers from the 2003 staff were selected in the MLB Draft. FSU's ERA has been ranked among the top four in the country in three of the last five years in the final NCAA statistics as well. Shouppe's staffs have had the lowest ERA in the ACC in 10 of his 12 seasons as pitching coach at Florida State.

A former Seminole pitcher, Shouppe played for Mike Mar-tin in 1981-82. The southpaw compiled a 10-4 record in two seasons with the Seminoles. During his career, Shouppe took the mound in 60 games and posted a 3.78 ERA. He fanned a total of 122 batters in 126 innings of work and was named to the Metro Conference All-Tournament team his senior year.

A native of Chattahoochee, Fla., Shouppe came to FSU via George Wallace Junior College in Dothan, Ala. At Wallace, he earned all-conference, all-state, and all-region honors in each of his two seasons while playing in the outfield and pitching.

The Houston Astros drafted Shouppe in the eighth round following his senior season at FSU. The left-hander played three years in the Astros organization at the A and AA levels and was invited to Major League camp in 1984, before retiring from the baseball in 1985. Shouppe received his bachelor's degree in physical education from FSU and a master's degree from Nova University in Fort Lauderdale. He held various coaching and teaching positions in Florida before returning to FSU in 1990.

Shouppe taught classes in the physical education depart-ment before giving up that responsibility prior to the 2000 sea-son. He has worked as director of the Mike Martin Baseball School, 6-10 age division, for the past 20 years.

Shouppe and his wife, former FSU cheerleader Karen Hall, have three children -- 17-year-old son Jake, 13-year-old daughter Kasey, and 11-year-old son Jared.
 

Martin has served as FSU's hitting coach over the last six years and those teams have hit no lower than .306 during that span. All seven of those seasons rank among Florida State's all-time top 15 in team batting average. The 1999 Seminoles hit .327 as a team, which ranks third all-time in school history. Last season, FSU compiled a team batting average of .306. The Seminoles averaged 7.8 runs per game in 2004 good for second in the ACC and a top 25 finish nationally for the second year in a row.

Having learned from two great hitting minds - Mike Martin and Duane Espy -- Martin, Jr.'s philosophy is a combination of their theories and has produced impressive results. FSU's hitters are taught an offensive approach that uti-lizes the entire field. Martin has also implemented the use of wood bats in practice since taking over as hitting coach. He has helped develop 11 All-Americans, 24 All-ACC selections and 19 players that signed professional contracts as Florida State's hitting coach.

Martin took over the additional duty of handling the Seminole catchers in 2003. He learned the art of catching from former FSU assistant Chip Baker and Roger Hanson of the Seattle Mariners, a highly regarded former Major League catching instructor. His experience paid off immediately and can be seen in the improvement of Tribe catcher Aaron Cheesman. The junior backstop had a breakout season in 2004 as Cheesman raised his average for the third consecutive season while starting every game behind the plate. The team captain set career highs in every offensive category and from 2003 to 2004, Cheesman raised his average 63 points (.284 to .347), started more than twice as many games (29 to 68), doubled his runs scored (25 to 50), almost tripled his hit production (31 to 83) and double production (7 to 18), hit the first three triples of his career and tripled his career home run total (1 to 3). Cheesman almost doubled his RBI total as he drove in 42 runs in 2004 compared to 22 in 2003 and his total bases increased from 41 to 116. Under Martin's guidance the catcher's slugging percentage went up over 100 points as well from .376 to .485 and he had a team best 15 game hitting streak.

Martin was the Seminoles' starting catcher from 1993- 95 and earned NCAA All-Tournament Team honors in each of his three years at Florida State. He was the Most Valuable Player of the NCAA Atlantic II Regional in 1994 as he led the Seminoles to the College World Series and garnered second team NCBWA All- American honors. He was selected to the 1995 NCAA Atlantic I Regional All-Tournament Team as the Seminoles returned to Omaha for the second straight year. Martin was a member of Team USA in 1993.

Martin was selected by the San Diego Padres in the ninth round of the 1995 draft following his senior season. After playing for the San Diego Padres organization for two years, he was signed by the Seattle Mariners as a free agent in 1996 before retiring from professional baseball in 1997.

In 1992, Martin was an all-conference selection at Manatee Community College in his only year of junior college. The Tallahassee native attended Maclay High School where his jersey #10 is retired. He captained the 1991 team that won the state championship his senior season. He was drafted as a shortstop out of high school by the Seattle Mariners in the 31st round.

Along with his coaching duties, the 1995 Florida State graduate speaks to booster clubs as well as high school and college coaching clinics on a regular basis. On November 27, 1999, Martin married the former Litzie Andrade. They have two sons -- Tyler (3) and T.J. (1).