Devin Martinez, a Parsons graduate and former Labette Cardinals baseball player, has been hired as the newest head coach of the Parsons Vikings baseball program. Martinez replaces Josh Robertson, who guided the Vikings to four wins last spring.
“Parsons baseball has tremendous potential,” Martinez said. “We’ve been there before. The program needs someone that wants to do the work, stick around and build relationships at the lower level. We’re all in this together. It’s going to be an incredible challenge but I’m ready for it.”
Martinez, who currently serves as the Vikings’ football staff as the offensive coordinator, graduated from Parsons in 2007.
He then played football at Independence Community College in 2007 before transferring to Labette for baseball, where he played in 2009.
After wrapping his postgraduate studies at Pittsburg State with a bachelor’s degree in communications, Martinez interned with the Great Falls Voyagers, a minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, in 2013.
In 2015, Martinez served as the promotions manager for the Joplin Blasters, an independent pro team that lasted two seasons.
Martinez moved back to Parsons and joined Schibi’s football staff in 2022.
“With me, it really does start with the relationships I already have with the kids,” Martinez said. “I work every day to build those with the kids in football. It’s been valuable. Yes, there will be growing pains with me not having been a head coach and not being in the game for a while. But it’s like riding a bike. I hadn’t coached football before I came back. But when you get around the kids, you just go.”
Parsons baseball has struggled in recent years, failing to post a winning season since placing third at state in 2018.
“The participation numbers haven’t been there,” Martinez said. “When you don’t have a full JV squad, it’s hard to develop kids. My plan is to get out there and play. There was talk that we wouldn’t have a team this year. But my big thing is that we’re going to have as many kids as possible. It doesn’t matter if you stopped playing baseball in little league. I want the kids to have a place to grow. And every kid will grow differently. We’ll coach an all-state kid and a kid that hasn’t played in five years. Everybody will get better. And it starts with getting a full varsity and a full JV roster so every kid is playing at the level they need to be playing at.”
Martinez wants to install a philosophy of controlled chaos.
“I believe baseball is a sport that needs to be played aggressively,” Martinez said. “I’m a firm believer that you need to make kids make plays. If you put the ball in play, kids have to think and do the right thing. I want to play small-ball when we need to. I want to rip extra bases. I want parents in the stands to realize how hard we play. There will be times it doesn’t work out. But I’ll take outs to score runs we shouldn’t score. I want a bunch of kids that will work hard and get dirty and take every inch that’s given to us.”
Martinez, who said he expects to hold the job for several years, expects the 2026 spring campaign to be a jumping-off point.
“I really don’t think, in Year 1, success will be measured on the scoreboard,” Martinez said. “I want to build excitement around the program. I want to get as many kids involved as possible. If we’re doing that early on, we’ll be heading in the right direction. The state champion (Fort Scott) is in our league, so we won’t be picked in the top half. But I’ve got a chip on my shoulder, so hopefully the kids take on that personality. I want them to take where they’ll be picked as a slight.”
