Kentucky Basketball announces addition of Chuck Martin to coaching staff

The reports are true. Chuck Martin is the newest member of John Calipari’s staff at Kentucky. Kentucky just sent out a press release confirming the hire, which has been whispered about for the past few weeks and even teased by Calipari in his press conference late last week.

Martin worked with Calipari at Memphis from 2006-08. He was most recently an assistant at Oregon (2022-23) and South Carolina (2017-22). Calipari says he will also serve as Kentucky’s recruiting coordinator.

“Chuck is a veteran in this profession who will be a great benefit to our team and staff,” Calipari said. “He has ties not only to me when we were on staff at Memphis together but also to several other members of our staff. Chuck is an established coach who will be our assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, looking to open new doors to make our successful recruiting even stronger.”

“I’m extremely excited to be reunited with Coach Cal,” Martin said. “I’m looking forward to joining his tremendous staff and being a part of something greater than myself.”

Martin is the second addition to Kentucky’s coaching staff this offseason. John Welch, a longtime NBA assistant and father of former walk-on Riley Welch, joined the staff in May. In January, the NCAA approved an increase of two coaches in men’s and women’s basketball. That rule took effect on July 1, and Martin was spotted today wearing Kentucky gear at the 3SSB Championships in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

According to the release, Martin will be tasked with providing strategies to help advance the program while offering additional counsel on all aspects of the program including recruiting, scouting, player development, and special projects as assigned by the head coach. As recruiting coordinator, he will independently manage official and unofficial visits and be responsible for all recruiting strategy for the program.

Martin started his career at Seton Hall (1999-2000) before coaching at Drexel (2001-04), St. John’s (2004-06), and Memphis (2006-08) as an assistant. After a four-year stint as the head coach at Marist from 2008-12, he then made stops at South Carolina (2017-22) and Oregon (2022-2023) again as an assistant.

1999–2000	Seton Hall(assistant)
2000–2001	Umass (assistant)
2001–2004	Drexel (assistant)
2004–2006	St. John’s (assistant)
2006–2008	Memphis (assistant)
2008–2012	Marist (head coach)
2017–2022	South Carolina (assistant)
2022–2023	Oregon (assistant)

It’s also worth noting that the release mentions Martin’s work with All-Pac-12 First Team pick N’Faly Dante on Dana Altman’s staff at Oregon. Hmm…