SE: Pride Leads to and Follows K-State WBB Senior Shaelyn Martin’s Academic All-America Honor
Mar 26, 2018 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
The first thing Shaelyn Martin did was screenshot it on her phone. First, to make sure what she was reading was real. Second, so she could send it to her mother.
"I just happened to pull up my phone and it was the first thing I saw," recalled Martin, a senior for K-State women's basketball. "I kind of froze and was, like, 'Is this really true?'"
What Martin saw on Twitter on March 12 was indeed true. She had been selected to the 2018 College Sports Information Directors of American (CoSIDA) Women's Basketball Academic All-America Second Team.
Thus, the screenshot, which was immediately sent to Valarie Martin, her mother, with the message: "Mom…"
"She messages back, 'You're kidding me?'" Martin, a Salina native, said. "It's still kind of setting in. It's really amazing to have that accomplishment."
Martin was the only Big 12 student-athlete to earn the honor this season. She's also only the sixth Wildcat in program history to be named to a CoSIDA All-America team.
So, yeah, it's a pretty significant accomplishment, one many people can take pride in.
"I'd liken that type of pride to that of a parent," said Kristin Waller, who played for K-State from 1998-2002 and now is an associate athletics director for student-athlete services, working specifically as the academic sport counselor for women's basketball and volleyball. "I'm proud to see all the work she has put in pay off and be recognized by becoming part of a select group of student athletes."
Martin, a three-time Academic First Team All-Big 12 pick, was not completely caught off guard by it. She knew being named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District VII First Team twice was a "gateway" to All-America honors. That information was just pushed to the back of her mind while she excelled on the court and maintained her 4.0 GPA.
"I didn't think about it and then I realized that it was time for those votes to come out. It's amazing that I'm one of the top (players) in the nation," she said. "Academics are just as big as basketball to me."
For Martin, the importance of education started with her family.
Her older brother, Josh, was a source of academic competition growing up and an advantageous resource as she got closer to college.
"My brother and I are super competitive in every aspect," Martin said. "We were those kids that we would come home from our test and be competing to see who had the higher grade."
He also suggested taking as many dual-credit classes as possible in high school. Martin listened and said she came to K-State with about 17 credit hours, roughly a full semester of classes.
"He definitely helped me in the transition to college," she said. "Being two years older, he really knew what the transition was like for high school classes to college classes."
Before transitioning into a school counselor role, her mother was an English teacher, "which is funny because English is not my strong suit," Martin, a kinesiology major, said. Her father, Dean, was a shop teacher, where Martin believes she received her knack for science and math, before he started farming full time.
"So it kind of runs in my family," she added. "It's weird because it's kind of like an unsaid thing. It's not like we said, 'You have to get As in everything.' It was just, 'Do what you can, and if that's not getting As, that's fine.' It was just something they kind of taught us to take on upon ourselves, which I think is the best way to do it because if you put the standard that anything below this (GPA) is unacceptable, that causes way too much stress. It needs to come from what you're capable of. And for some people, their best is a 3.0, and that's still amazing."
Martin, seeking a career as an occupational therapist, knew her ceiling was a 4.0. It was her goal when she came to K-State, even though she was aware it would be difficult to maintain with basketball. Now, with the goal obtained and All-America honors to go with it, Martin said it took a combination of hard work and ample resources made available to K-State student-athletes.
"We have everything at Vanier," she said of the home for K-State Athletics' academic center, listing off resources such as tutors, learning specialists, ample computers and study rooms. "I've had tutors up until my senior year. Even if I didn't necessarily need it I was going to use tutors to make sure I got every advantage possible. I think I had just as many advantages in academics as on the court for basketball."
An old-fashioned, handwritten planner, Martin can also recognize the importance of time management as a student-athlete.
Early in her career, she would sit down with her planner and write down her practice schedule, her tutor schedule and her class schedule. From there, she would calculate her free time and plan out when she could get some additional studying in, some extra shots up or even take a nap.
"I did that so I could get used to getting in a set schedule because our lives are hectic as it is. So if you can have a consistent schedule throughout the week, that helps you stay rested, stay on top of academics, move ahead in basketball, a little bit of everything," she said. "Then as you get older you just kind of get into that routine where you know, 'I have this block of time: an hour of studying, 30 minutes of basketball, go get treatment, take a nap.' It just becomes part of the flow of your day-to-day life."
Martin's routine led to excellence on and off the court.
On it, she reached four postseasons and became the third player in program history to record more than 500 points, 750 rebounds and 400 assists. She finished her career ranked fifth in assists (423), 10th in rebounds (782), eighth in steals (212), tied for third in games played (131) and tied for fourth in games started (123).
"It just goes to show that she takes pride in everything she does. That is so important to our program because we always talk about how you're always representing Kansas State, whether you have the jersey on or not, and she's just a competitive kid," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. "She's going to compete in everything she does and she's going try to do her very best in every area. The result of that is she's a smart kid that has high goals on and off the floor. I'll be honest, I haven't worried about Shae, academically or off the floor at any point, ever throughout her career here. I know she's always going to be where she's supposed to be and doing the things that represent our program very well."
In the classroom, Martin joined a rare group of Wildcats. She is the first K-State women's basketball player since Ashley Sweat in 2010 to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. She also earned a 2018 Big 12/Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement award.
"Shaelyn is incredibly driven, focused, and isn't afraid to work to accomplish what she wants," Waller said. "Shaelyn's known from Day One of stepping on campus that she wanted to pursue a career in occupational therapy. She had a goal, established a plan to reach that goal, used the resources and opportunities afforded to her as a student-athlete, and as a result took the steps and made the decisions necessary to reach that goal. I think you see those traits in her game on the court, but those traits also are reflected in the way she approaches each day in the classroom and as a person."
Martin chose kinesiology as a gateway to an occupational therapy program, usually two to three years in length.
She said her initial career goal was to work with children born with developmental disabilities. This aim stemmed partly from her experience as a Wildcat of working K-State's Special Olympics events, along with her interactions with some children at youth basketball camps.
After volunteering at Meadowlark Hills for its Parkinson's boxing program, Martin is more open to who she works with.
"I've gotten to know a lot of people there and they're absolutely awesome," she said. "So now I'm completely open to who I want to work with, so I'm just going to see where OT school takes me in the next few years and we'll go from there."
Whatever she does, she'll do it with complete effort. It's the only way she knows.
"Just taking pride in what I do," she said of her mentality. "I don't really like to do things half-heartedly. Everything — academics, my volunteering, whatever it is — I want to put everything I have into it."
The first thing Shaelyn Martin did was screenshot it on her phone. First, to make sure what she was reading was real. Second, so she could send it to her mother.
"I just happened to pull up my phone and it was the first thing I saw," recalled Martin, a senior for K-State women's basketball. "I kind of froze and was, like, 'Is this really true?'"
What Martin saw on Twitter on March 12 was indeed true. She had been selected to the 2018 College Sports Information Directors of American (CoSIDA) Women's Basketball Academic All-America Second Team.
Thus, the screenshot, which was immediately sent to Valarie Martin, her mother, with the message: "Mom…"
"She messages back, 'You're kidding me?'" Martin, a Salina native, said. "It's still kind of setting in. It's really amazing to have that accomplishment."
Martin was the only Big 12 student-athlete to earn the honor this season. She's also only the sixth Wildcat in program history to be named to a CoSIDA All-America team.
So, yeah, it's a pretty significant accomplishment, one many people can take pride in.
"I'd liken that type of pride to that of a parent," said Kristin Waller, who played for K-State from 1998-2002 and now is an associate athletics director for student-athlete services, working specifically as the academic sport counselor for women's basketball and volleyball. "I'm proud to see all the work she has put in pay off and be recognized by becoming part of a select group of student athletes."
Martin, a three-time Academic First Team All-Big 12 pick, was not completely caught off guard by it. She knew being named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District VII First Team twice was a "gateway" to All-America honors. That information was just pushed to the back of her mind while she excelled on the court and maintained her 4.0 GPA.
"I didn't think about it and then I realized that it was time for those votes to come out. It's amazing that I'm one of the top (players) in the nation," she said. "Academics are just as big as basketball to me."
For Martin, the importance of education started with her family.
Her older brother, Josh, was a source of academic competition growing up and an advantageous resource as she got closer to college.
"My brother and I are super competitive in every aspect," Martin said. "We were those kids that we would come home from our test and be competing to see who had the higher grade."
He also suggested taking as many dual-credit classes as possible in high school. Martin listened and said she came to K-State with about 17 credit hours, roughly a full semester of classes.
"He definitely helped me in the transition to college," she said. "Being two years older, he really knew what the transition was like for high school classes to college classes."
Before transitioning into a school counselor role, her mother was an English teacher, "which is funny because English is not my strong suit," Martin, a kinesiology major, said. Her father, Dean, was a shop teacher, where Martin believes she received her knack for science and math, before he started farming full time.
"So it kind of runs in my family," she added. "It's weird because it's kind of like an unsaid thing. It's not like we said, 'You have to get As in everything.' It was just, 'Do what you can, and if that's not getting As, that's fine.' It was just something they kind of taught us to take on upon ourselves, which I think is the best way to do it because if you put the standard that anything below this (GPA) is unacceptable, that causes way too much stress. It needs to come from what you're capable of. And for some people, their best is a 3.0, and that's still amazing."
Martin, seeking a career as an occupational therapist, knew her ceiling was a 4.0. It was her goal when she came to K-State, even though she was aware it would be difficult to maintain with basketball. Now, with the goal obtained and All-America honors to go with it, Martin said it took a combination of hard work and ample resources made available to K-State student-athletes.
"We have everything at Vanier," she said of the home for K-State Athletics' academic center, listing off resources such as tutors, learning specialists, ample computers and study rooms. "I've had tutors up until my senior year. Even if I didn't necessarily need it I was going to use tutors to make sure I got every advantage possible. I think I had just as many advantages in academics as on the court for basketball."
An old-fashioned, handwritten planner, Martin can also recognize the importance of time management as a student-athlete.
Early in her career, she would sit down with her planner and write down her practice schedule, her tutor schedule and her class schedule. From there, she would calculate her free time and plan out when she could get some additional studying in, some extra shots up or even take a nap.
"I did that so I could get used to getting in a set schedule because our lives are hectic as it is. So if you can have a consistent schedule throughout the week, that helps you stay rested, stay on top of academics, move ahead in basketball, a little bit of everything," she said. "Then as you get older you just kind of get into that routine where you know, 'I have this block of time: an hour of studying, 30 minutes of basketball, go get treatment, take a nap.' It just becomes part of the flow of your day-to-day life."
Martin's routine led to excellence on and off the court.
On it, she reached four postseasons and became the third player in program history to record more than 500 points, 750 rebounds and 400 assists. She finished her career ranked fifth in assists (423), 10th in rebounds (782), eighth in steals (212), tied for third in games played (131) and tied for fourth in games started (123).
"It just goes to show that she takes pride in everything she does. That is so important to our program because we always talk about how you're always representing Kansas State, whether you have the jersey on or not, and she's just a competitive kid," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. "She's going to compete in everything she does and she's going try to do her very best in every area. The result of that is she's a smart kid that has high goals on and off the floor. I'll be honest, I haven't worried about Shae, academically or off the floor at any point, ever throughout her career here. I know she's always going to be where she's supposed to be and doing the things that represent our program very well."
In the classroom, Martin joined a rare group of Wildcats. She is the first K-State women's basketball player since Ashley Sweat in 2010 to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. She also earned a 2018 Big 12/Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement award.
"Shaelyn is incredibly driven, focused, and isn't afraid to work to accomplish what she wants," Waller said. "Shaelyn's known from Day One of stepping on campus that she wanted to pursue a career in occupational therapy. She had a goal, established a plan to reach that goal, used the resources and opportunities afforded to her as a student-athlete, and as a result took the steps and made the decisions necessary to reach that goal. I think you see those traits in her game on the court, but those traits also are reflected in the way she approaches each day in the classroom and as a person."
Martin chose kinesiology as a gateway to an occupational therapy program, usually two to three years in length.
She said her initial career goal was to work with children born with developmental disabilities. This aim stemmed partly from her experience as a Wildcat of working K-State's Special Olympics events, along with her interactions with some children at youth basketball camps.
After volunteering at Meadowlark Hills for its Parkinson's boxing program, Martin is more open to who she works with.
"I've gotten to know a lot of people there and they're absolutely awesome," she said. "So now I'm completely open to who I want to work with, so I'm just going to see where OT school takes me in the next few years and we'll go from there."
Whatever she does, she'll do it with complete effort. It's the only way she knows.
"Just taking pride in what I do," she said of her mentality. "I don't really like to do things half-heartedly. Everything — academics, my volunteering, whatever it is — I want to put everything I have into it."
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