UConn Athletic Communications
April 16, 2020
STORRS – Tyrese Martin, a 6-6 guard from Allentown, Pa., has signed a UConn financial aid agreement and will join the UConn men's basketball program as a junior transfer.
Martin has spent the past two years at the University of Rhode Island, where he played in 63 games, starting 49 for the Rams, who compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Martin was originally recruited to URI by then-head coach Dan Hurley, committing to the Rams in September, 2017.
"We are very excited to add a student-athlete of Tyrese's caliber to the UConn basketball program," now-UConn coach Hurley said. "He has the type of athletic talent and mindset that we value deeply in our program. He will fit very well into our style of basketball and our culture."
Martin said his relationship with Coach Hurley and the allure of UConn were big factors in his decision.
"My decision came down to where I felt my heart was," Martin said about choosing UConn over a transfer list that also included Seton Hall, Oregon, Georgia and Mississippi. "The relationship I have with Coach Hurley, the history behind UConn, the championships, and the Big East has always been a conference I dreamed of playing in. The University of Rhode Island is a great program, but I think UConn is an elite program."
Martin's playing status with UConn for the 2020-21 season will depend on the upcoming NCAA decision regarding immediate eligibility for transfers, or obtaining a waiver to receive immediate eligibility. If neither situation comes about, he will be able to practice with the Huskies, but not compete in games. Whenever Martin becomes eligible, he will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Martin started all 30 games for Rhode Island last season, averaging 12.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, collecting five double-doubles, while shooting 43.3 percent overall and 32.1 percent from three-point range, before the season was cut short because of the coronavirus pandemic. He set career-highs with 24 points and 16 rebounds in a 76-75 win at Fordham.
As a freshman at URI in 2018-19, Martin appeared in all 33 games, starting 19, and averaged 8.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game with a double-double, shooting 41.8 percent overall and 31.1 percent from three-point range.
A hard-nosed defender, Martin is a product of William Allen High School in Allentown, where he scored 1,120 career points and led the team to a 26-3 record and the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference title in 2016-17. He also spent a prep year at Massanutten Military Academy (Woodstock, Va.) and won a pair of AAU national championships with the We R 1 program.
Martin adds to a 2020-21 UConn roster that includes rising seniors Josh Carlton, Tyler Polley and Isaiah Whaley, rising juniors RJ Cole and Brendan Adams, rising redshirt sophomore Akok Akok, rising sophomores James Bouknight and Jalen Gaffney, rising redshirt freshman Richie Springs, and incoming freshmen Andre Jackson and Javonte Brown-Ferguson.
"We have a lot of momentum around our program right now and Tyrese has certainly added to that," Hurley said. "We're looking forward to Husky Nation welcoming our newest member."
