Rodney Martin shared his feeling with an umpire in this year's state tourney
Rodney Martin, who led Lexington Catholic to state baseball championships in 1999 and 2006, is retiring as coach and teacher at his alma mater.
“I’ve been thinking about it the last three or four years, and after this season, I decided it’s time to move on,” he said.
Martin, 42, wouldn’t say what he intends to do, but added that he has “some options.” When the sports seasons come around, he will be in the stands watching his son Taylor, a sophomore, play basketball and baseball for Lexington Catholic.
Lexington Catholic got off to a slow start this spring and had a .500 record in early May. But the Knights finished strong and made it to the state semifinals before losing to Lawrence County.
“Last season was the most rewarding I’ve ever had as coach,” Martin said, “because we were down early in the year but were able to come back.”
Martin was a baseball and basketball star at Lexington Catholic in the early 1980s. He played baseball at UK for two years before transferring to Cumberland University in Tennessee where he played baseball and basketball.
He coached on the college level for a few years, and at Lebanon High School in Tennessee for four years before returning to Lexington Catholic for the 1995-96 school year.
The Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association has Martin with a record of 338-80 in 13 years with the Knights.
