Isaiah Martinez enters his third season on head coach Mike Poeta's coaching staff in 2024. Martinez, a Lemoore, Calif. native, rejoined his alma matter, where he graduated from in 2018, as an assistant coach in 2022.

Martinez wrestled for Illinois from 2013-2018. He redshirted his first year in the program. Martinez was the 2015 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and the 2016 and 2018 Wrestler of the Big Ten Championship. He was named the Illinois Big Ten Medal of Honor winner in 2018 for excellence in both academics and athletics, and twice was named the Dike Eddleman Male Athlete of the Year.

He is a two-time NCAA Champion, four-time NCAA finalists, and four-time Big Ten Champion. He is the most accomplished wrestler in Fighting Illini history. He holds the school record for best win percentage as his record at Illinois is 116-3 (.975). The 116 victories by Martinez is tied for 10th all-time in Illinois history, and had a 54-match winning streak that stretched over two seasons.

After Illinois Martinez still wrestled internationally representing the United States. In 2018 and 2019 he claimed gold at the US National Championships He also won gold at the 2019 World Cup, helping the US team place third overall. In 2021, after the COVID-19 pandemic halted competitions in 2020, he earned silver in the US National Championships. The last match he wrestled in and now starts his coaching career.