OHS alum named Fordham All-American

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An alumnus of Oceanside High School and four-year member of the varsity baseball team, it should be to nobody’s surprise that Fordham’s Kyle Martin performed so well in his freshman season for the Rams. Martin, a dominant right-handed pitcher, led the team with 23 appearances in 2017. He pitched a total of 32.2 innings while securing six wins and a save on his way to being named Fordham’s first freshman All-American since 2011.

In high school, Martin’s laundry list of awards is a testament to his enduring success. The Doug Robins Diamond Award, given to the best pitcher in Nassau County; First Team All-Long Island; All-State; and All-Metro were all awarded to Martin as a senior at OHS. He was 5-0 with an earned run average of .40. As if his resume wasn’t strong enough, Martin isn’t too shabby swinging the lumber either. An owner of a .390 batting average, 24 runs batted-in and 6 home runs his senior year, Martin showed college scouts he could do it all.

Kyle’s coach at Fordham, Kevin Leighton, has always been impressed by Martin’s composure, “I thought that was one of the best things I noticed with Kyle this year.  The situation didn't seem to phase him.  He is a competitor and loves the big stage.​”

Kyle’s strongest pitch is arguably his fastball. Clocking in the low 90’s, Martin is able to blow by hitters with his unique arm slot that allows deceptive movement on the four-seamer.

Although he was a starter in high school, he acted in the reliever role this season for the Rams, “We felt it was best for him to start out coming out of the bullpen,” Leighton said. “He did well in that role and developed into very solid and reliable option for us late in games.” He added that he has seen considerable improvement, “I think he located better as the season went on.  He never really walked many guys, but his command in the zone got better.​”

Kyle is majoring in economics at Fordham and will head into next season as one of the top young pitchers to watch in the Atlantic 10.