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Florida volleyball loses top player Kennedy Martin to transfer portal
Florida volleyball’s new coach Ryan Theis will begin the 2025 season without the program’s best player from 2024 due to a transfer portal stunner. Swampcast talks Florida softball, Florida basketball, transfer season The Sun’s Kevin Brockway and Noah Ram discuss transfers in Florida basketball, football and UF’s softball showdown vs. Oklahoma with Ryan Aber of […]
Florida volleyball’s new coach Ryan Theis will begin the 2025 season without the program’s best player from 2024 due to a transfer portal stunner.
Swampcast talks Florida softball, Florida basketball, transfer season
The Sun’s Kevin Brockway and Noah Ram discuss transfers in Florida basketball, football and UF’s softball showdown vs. Oklahoma with Ryan Aber of The Oklahoman.
As Ryan Theis looks to fill the shoes of a legend after taking over for longtime head coach Mary Wise, he and Florida volleyball will be without its best player.
Junior Kennedy Martin announced Thursday morning on her Instagram she will be entering the transfer portal. In her two seasons with the Gators, Martin was an absolute beast. She led the squad in kills by nearly 200 both years – 492 in 2023, 512 in 2024.
Martin was one of the top high school recruits in the country when she committed to Florida. A native of Fort Mill, South Carolina, she was the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022.
Coach Mary Wise started her all 29 matches in 2023, where she set the kills program record for a freshman. She also led the team in total points (581).
Last season, she elevated her game even more. Martin missed seven matches early in the season due to injury. Still, she ranked 20th in the country in kills. Her kills-per-set placed second in the NCAA, and her points-per-set were No. 1.
She saved her best performances for the biggest moments. In NCAA Regionals at Kansas, she registered 33 kills to advance the Gators.
Everything changed for the program when Wise retired in February after 34 years at the helm. Athletic Director Scott Stricklin hired Theis – Marquette coach since 2013 and a former assistant for Wise.
Martin remained with the program for three months after the decision, including playing in spring games.
The Gators begin their 2025 season in Lincoln, Nebraska at the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) First Serve vs. Stanford on Friday, August 22.
Noah Ram covers Florida Gators athletics and Gainesville-area high school sports for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at Nram@gannett.com and follow him @Noah_ram1 on X/Twitter.