Greetings Biolans. I hope you are all renewed both spiritually and physically after last week’s Torrey Conference. So far in this blog we have covered athletes from the sports of soccer, swimming, and baseball. This week we turn our attention to basketball. More specifically, to Clay Martin.

The road to Biola

Clay Martin is a senior guard from Beaverton, Oregon. However, unlike most students, Biola was not Clay’s first choice, and his trip here took time and God’s leading hand. Clay started his college basketball career in Oregon after being recruited by Corban College. According to Clay, a big part of attending Corban was “to play basketball.” However, after two years, the sport was not going as he had hoped, and he decided it was time to transfer.

“I thought a lot about it before deciding to try and find a new place to go to school.” Clay said. “It was really hard leaving my friends and teammates at my old school, [and] telling my old coach I would be transferring.” Clay stated that he feels “God definitely was involved” in the transferring process. “I was also having a hard time deciding which school I wanted to transfer to, but God really made it apparent.”

The reasons for Biola instead of a different college were all too familiar. “After visiting Biola I knew it was the right place for me. The community atmosphere on campus and all the friendly people I encountered on my visit really showed me what a great place [Biola was].” Despite several obstacles, Clay said that “God made it happen.”

Life at Biola

A year later Clay is still loving Biola, and has really found his place on the basketball team. “The basketball team is my family here at school,” Clay said of the team. Like a family, the team spends “a ton of time” together, going through “many difficult situations,” Clay said. However being on a Christian team makes all the difference turning hard situations into opportunities for growth.

“It’s great having positive role models and Godly men to spend time with every day,” Clay said of his “family.” Clay could not be happier with where God has led him, and even spent his first year at Biola as a student ambassador, helping other transfers with their decisions to come to Biola.

Looking to the future

Clay is now in his last year of college, and, as is the case for many college athletes, the future does not consist of sports. Clay is an accounting major and already has a job offer for next year at an accounting firm. Just for fun I asked Clay where he sees himself in the more distant future. “In ten years I plan to have a family and hopefully be a successful lawyer, or businessman,” Clay said. It will be exciting to see what God has in store for Clay.