CHICAGO — Chicago State head women's basketball coach Tiffany Sardin has announced the hiring of assistant coach Diana Martinez.
"I'm excited to have Coach D join our program," Sardin said. "She has coached a lot of great players. Our women will learn a lot from her. She will be instrumental in the growth and development of our young women on and off the floor and in others areas of our program.
"I love working and learning from good people, and I believe Coach D is one of those people. I'm thrilled to have her a part of our staff."
Martinez joins the Cougars after serving as head coach at Highland School in Warrenton, Virginia since 2017. Her Hawks teams earned four regular season and conference championships along with a Virginia state title in 2019. During her tenure, she also served as an assistant coach to the Elevate Elite AAU team, where she focused on defensive schemes and skill development for both guards and post players.
Martinez earned VISAA DII State Coach of the Year Honors for the 2018-19 season.
Most recently, in 2021, Highland was the Virginia state runner-up while earning conference championships for both the regular season and tournament.
"I'm so excited about the opportunity to join Coach Sardin and her staff here at Chicago State," Martinez said. "I'm thrilled to join the mission to bring this program to new heights. It's been a dream of mine to coach at the Division I level, so I'm appreciative to work with the Chicago State women's basketball program."
Prior to her time at Highland, Martinez was head coach at Stonewall Jackson High School (2011-17) (since renamed Unity Reed High School) and oversaw three levels of girls basketball, earning five winning seasons, five district titles, two region titles and was a state finalist.
Martinez has also served as an assistant coach at the junior college level, coaching at Pensacola State College in Pensacola, Florida, where she coached seven players who earned Division I scholarships.
Previously, she also coached at Central Methodist University (Fayette, Missouri) and at St. Andrews University (Laurinburg, North Carolina).
Martinez has also coached camps at a slew of sites, including Duke, Maryland, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Texas, George Washington and Virginia.
Martinez graduated from St. Andrews University with a B.A. in psychology and also earned a Master of Education from Central Methodist University and a Master of Teaching from Liberty University.
About Chicago State
Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title and made an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet.
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