Youngstown -- Youngstown State men's basketball coach Jerry Slocum announced on Wednesday that junior college forward Sirlester Martin has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the program.

    Martin, a 6-foot-7, 200-pound forward from Walters State College was a solid all-around player the past two years for the Senators. In his two seasons, he scored nearly 800 points while grabbing 500 rebounds. He is a native of Memphis, Tenn., having attended Carver High School prior to attending WSC.

    Slocum said Martin will be a key addition because of his size and athletic ability.

    "He will bring some needed strength to our forward positions," Slocum said. "Sirlester shoots, defends and rebounds well and has a solid overall game. We are excited to have him become part of our program and look forward to him making a contribution and being an impact player."

    Last year, Walters State posted a 32-3 mark reaching the Division I NJCAA National Tournament. The Senators won their first 28 games of the season before losing their regular-season finale. After posting three wins at the TJCCAA Region VII Tournament, Walters advanced to the National Tournament.

    In the three Regional Tournament games, Martin grabbed 36 rebounds, including an 11-point, 14-rebound effort against Motlow State in the Regional Final. For his efforts, he was named to the all-tournament team.

    In the National Tournament, Walters posted a 1-2 mark with its lone win coming over Eastern Wyoming.

    Martin said he enjoyed his visit to Youngstown and wanted to make sure it was the right fit since he will be far from home.

    "I felt comfortable with the environment there and the coaching staff was cool and took time to make me feel comfortable," he said. "This is the first time I will be far away from home and I really enjoyed the coaches and the player's personalities."

    As a sophomore, Martin played in 34 games scoring over 400 points while grabbing just under 300 rebounds. He had 11 double-doubles, scoring in double figures 22 times and grabbed double digits in rebounds on 14 occasions.
    As a freshman, he played in 31 games, starting 12. He scored 366 points (11.8 per game) while grabbing 202 rebounds (6.5 per contest).

    Martin said he planned to work on his mid-range game before coming to campus this fall.

    "I played a lot of positions in high school and junior college so I have played both inside and outside," he said. "Coming out of high school I wasn't as basketball smart as I am know and it really helped me learn the game more."

    Martin joins Ashen Ward, Dallas Blocker, Kelvin Bright and DeAndre Mays who have already signed national letters of intent to become part of the program next season.