America East Basketball: 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

20. Jayden Martinez

Though he was used as a bench piece this past season at North Texas, Martinez had some great production earlier in his career at New Hampshire. A 6’7 forward from Cibolo, Texas, Martinez headed to New England back in 2018. He’d play four seasons with the Wildcats, starting 77 of his 97 games during that time.

Martinez was an impactful stretch 4 for the Wildcats. He had modest numbers as an underclassman, but averaged 13.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game during his junior year, his first season as the full-time starter in the frontcourt. He helped lead New Hampshire to a pair of seasons above .500 in those final two campaigns, including a career-high 33 points against Quinnipiac as a senior. He was also one of the conference’s best rebounders, especially on the offensive end.

Martinez put up great numbers as both a junior and senior and it’s no surprise that he was named First Team All-America East as a junior while earning Second Team honors as a senior. He was actually among the national leaders in turnover percentage during that final season, really showing himself as someone who could handle the ball, score, and grab boards for this program. New Hampshire was certainly a better program with him on campus and he wasn’t more than a bench piece for NIT champion North Texas this past year.