Gators All-American volleyball player Kennedy Martin enters transfer portal

Florida Gators star volleyball player Kennedy Martin, an All-American and one of the top players in college, has entered the transfer portal. Martin, a 6-foot-6 outside hitter from Fort Mill, S.C., just completed her sophomore season and already is one of the most accomplished UF players in recent history.

After a dominant 2024 campaign, Martin was an AVCA Division I Player of the Year Award Semifinalist. Additionally, she earned first-team All-American honors from AVCA and VolleyballMag — and was the first player in school history to be named AVCA All-Southeast Region Player of the Year.

Longtime Gators coach Mary Wise retired earlier this year and Ryan Theis was chosen to replace her.

Kennedy Martin shared the news via Instagram

Martin posted the following note about her own departure on Instagram:

“Dear gator nation, From the bottom of my heart, thank you for the unwavering love and support you’ve shown me over these past two and a half unforgettable years. Representing this program has been one of the greatest honors of my life.

To every teammate, coach, and member of the support staff I’ve had the privilege to work alongside—thank you. You’ve each left a lasting impact on me, both as an athlete and as a person, and I’m beyond grateful for the memories we’ve made together.

A special thank you to Mary, Dave, CK, and Eysha—thank you for believing in me, for your guidance, and for granting me the incredible opportunity to wear the Gator jersey with pride. It’s been a true blessing.

To all my girls, I’ll love you long time. We have learned and grown so much together. You have been such a blessing to me and I am so lucky to call you lifetime friends and sisters. Your love, support, and kind words throughout this whole journey has meant more to me then you know <3

After lots of prayer and many conversations with the people I love most, I have decided that it is time for me to close this chapter and move on to the next. I love you all

Once a Gator always a Gator”

Per FloridaGators.com, these were some of most notable highlights of her sophomore season

• National leader in points per set
• Started in 24 matches… played in 24/31 matches and 92/117 sets (was out five matches due to ankle sprain)
• Tallied double-digit kills in all 24 matches played
  • Has consecutively finished with double-digit kills in every collegiate match she has played wearing the Orange and Blue (53 matches)
• Led Florida in kills 23 times, 23 times in points, seven times in aces and five times in blocking
• Recorded 1,000 career kills in just 53 matches to become the fastest Gator to reach the milestone
• Finished her sophomore season with 512 kills for a .362 average hitting percentage, 578.0 points, 146 digs, 42 total blocks (6 BS, 36 BA), 31 service aces and six assists.
• Led the Gators total kills, and total points … ranked second in attack percentage, third in total blocks and total aces
• Led SEC in points per set … second in the SEC and 25th in the nation for total points … ranked second in the NCAA and first in the SEC for kills per set and was 20th in the nation and second in the SEC for total kills … finished sixth in the SEC and 54th in the NCAA for hitting percentage