Veteran high school and college coach Diana Martinez has joined the Loyola University Maryland women’s basketball staff as an assistant, Head Coach Danielle O’Banion announced today.
“We are excited to welcome Diana back to this region.” O’Banion said. “She is a proven relationship-builder and coach. We continue to get better with her addition!”
Martinez, who was twice a Virginia State Coach of the Year at the high school level, comes to Loyola after spending the last two seasons as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Chicago State.
She worked throughout all areas of the Cougars’ program and helped Chicago State notch its first-ever win against a Big Ten or Power Five opponent during her tenure. Eight of the players on teams Martinez coached earned Academic All-Western Athletic Conference recognition, and one player became the program’s first All-WAC honoree.
She joined the Windy City school after an extremely successful run as head coach of Highland School where she led the Hawks to the Virginia State Championship in 2019. Her team also won four regular-season and conference titles at the school in Warrenton, Virginia.
Martinez earned Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) Division II State Coach of the Year honors following her first season with the Hawks (2017-18) and again in 2019-20.
She directed the Hawks to a state runner-up finish in 2017-18 and 2020-21 after they earned both the conference regular-season and tournament crowns.
Before her time at Highland, Martinez was the head coach from 2011-17 at the Prince William County High School now named Unity Reed (formerly Stonewall Jackson). She oversaw three levels of girls’ basketball at the school and led the team to five district and two regional titles. Her side also earned a state finals bid, and 13 players under her leadership signed at the NCAA Division I level.
Earlier in her coaching career, Martinez worked at the junior college level, coaching seven players who earned NCAA Division I scholarships at Pensacola State College in Florida. She also worked at the NAIA level at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri, and her alma mater, St. Andrew’s University in Laurinburg, N.C.
Martinez has coached on the camp circuit with multiple stops that include Duke, Maryland, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Texas, George Washington and Virginia, and she also was a part of the Elevate Elite AAU program as an assistant coach while she was at Highland School.
Martinez graduated from St. Andrew’s with a bachelor of arts in psychology in 2007, and she later earned her master of education at Central Methodist in 2010 and a master of teaching in special education at Liberty in 2017.
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