Baseball: Jeremy Martinez is helping fuel a revived USC
- Share via
Back when Jeremy Martinez committed to USC as a freshman catcher at Santa Ana Mater Dei, few expected him to end up in college. He was a top draft pick in waiting.
For whatever reason, Martinez didn’t go as high as expected by his senior year. He was a 37th-round pick of the Chicago Cubs and ended up going to USC after all.
And the Trojans now have a standout for three years.
As a freshman this season, Martinez is the eighth-leading hitter in the Pac-12, with a .347 batting average. He has struck out only nine times in 124 at-bats.
He has helped lead USC to a 9-9 Pac-12 record after a sweep of Arizona this past week.
One of USC’s problems in recent years has been getting high-profile high school commitments from players who never show up.
Martinez’s arrival could be the start of the Trojans’ turnaround.
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
