Kirk Martin is celebrated for a successful coaching career with the Southeastern High School girls team in addition to his accomplishments as head coach of Cedarville University’s women’s team. He coached at Southeastern from 1986-97 and 1999-2001, where his teams achieved a 297-34 record, 11 district titles, and made it to the Division IV Sweet Sixteen in 11 of 12 seasons! He led the Trojans to a Division IV state title in 1996 and his 1989 team finished runner-up. A 1989 state Coach of the Year, Martin was also named Southwest District Coach of the Year and was a four-time District 9 Coach of the Year.

Martin was named head coach at his alma mater, Cedarville University, in 2001 and coached the Yellow Jackets until his retirement in 2016. His teams averaged 25.6 wins per season, with 12 20-win seasons, including back-to-back 35-win campaigns. Under his leadership, CU won the 2008 NCCAA title, recorded two NAIA Division II national runner-up finishes, and seven conference championships. After building the team into one of the top NAIA programs in the country, he guided them to a successful transition into NCAA Division II. 

The Lady Jackets ended up 20-10 in their first active NCAA season in 2012-13 and then posted an 18-10 record in 2013-14 including a 13-3 showing in the G-MAC. The women were among the G-MAC leaders the entire season and advanced to the league tournament semifinals. Cedarville posted an impressive 27-4 mark in 2014-15 and earned the program’s first-ever bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Lady Jackets, who won the G-MAC regular season (15-1) and tournament titles, were ranked as high as 17th in the USA Today Sports Coaches’ Poll.

He was named the NCCAA Coach of the Year in 2008, the G-MAC Coach of the year in 2015, and was a five-time AMC Coach of the Year. Martin was inducted into the Cedarville University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998. Coach Martin received the Kay Yow "Heart of a Coach" Award, presented by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, during the 2016 Division I NCAA Tournament Finals.