Mike Martin, the All-Time Winningest Coach in College History, Dies at 79

The veteran baseball coach was the only head coach in collegiate sports history to win 2,000 games.

Mike Martin, the long-time Florida State college baseball head coach who ended his career with more wins than any other coach in college sports, died on Thursday at 79 years old, the school announced. Martin had been battling Lewy body dementia for the past three years.

Martin took over as Florida State’s college baseball head coach in 1980 after spending four years as an assistant, and he stayed in that role until his retirement in 2019. During his tenure, Martin totaled a 2,029-736-4 record, becoming the all-time winningest coach in college baseball history and the only coach in any collegiate sport to win 2,000 games in his career.

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

"Mike Martin lit up a room with his enthusiasm and energy...we have lost one of our greatest Seminoles." @SeminoleAlford pic.twitter.com/xQNb5D3Mla

— FSU Baseball (@FSUBaseball) February 1, 2024

While Martin never won a College World Series in his career, he did lead the Seminoles to 19 conference tournament championships, 13 regular season championships, 17 College World Series appearances and three College World Series runner-ups. He was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame after his retirement in 2019.

Martin also won two National Coach of the Year awards, one in 2012 and another in ’19. Many future MLB players came through Martin’s program at Florida State including Deion Sanders, Buster Posey and J.D. Drew.

Martin is survived by his wife, Carol, three children and four grandchildren.