Coaches

Albert Martins

Head coach Albert Martins started the UC Merced men’s soccer program in 2013 and has proven to the California Pacific Conference that the Bobcats will be a title contender on an annual basis. Through ten seasons, the 4X Cal Pac Coach of the Year has guided the Bobcats to a pair of regular season conference titles, two Cal Pac Tournament Championships, six Cal Pac Championship games, six NAIA National Championship Opening Rounds and the 2019 NAIA National Championship Final Site. The winningest active coach in the conference, Martins has compiled an overall record of 115-48-16 and an 80-19-6 record in Cal Pac play. Also of note, Martins has played to a 40-4-6 record in his last 50 home games.


Martins, the 2022 NAIA Coach of Character and the head coach of the 2020 United Soccer Coaches West Region Staff of the Year, has coached ten All-Americans, four Cal Pac Freshmen of the Year, five Cal Pac Defensive Players of the Year and three Cal Players of the Year. In total, Martins is also responsible for 51 All-Cal Pac selections, 13 honorable mentions and 47 Cal Pac Players of the Week.


Last season, Martins’ team finished 8-0-4 in Cal Pac play and put together a school-record 17-match unbeaten streak between the season opener and the conference championship match. Under Martins’ watch, the Bobcats became the first team to go unbeaten through 12 Cal Pac matches since Marymount California University in 2013. Overall, the Bobcats finished 12-3-5 in 2022 and earned a sixth straight berth to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round. Andres Lua and Anthoni Martin were named NAIA Honorable Mention All-Americans in addition to Martin being named the Cal Pac Defensive Player of the Year. The duo also earned All-Cal Pac First Team honors alongside Xavier Barajas. Lua became UC Merced’s all-time leading goal scorer. Defensively, UC Merced led the league in goals against average across the entire campaign and in conference action. The Bobcats earned the #2 seed in the Cal Pac Tournament and beat Westcliff 3-2 to advance to their third straight tournament championship match. Martins and co. would end up earning a runner-up finish, earning an automatic berth to the national tournament in which UC Merced drew fourth-ranked University of Mobile. Other highlights throughout the year include Martins being named the NAIA Coach of Character and beating Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on October 15.


Martins and the Bobcats proved to be one of the best offensive teams in the nation in 2021, ranking eighth with 3.63 goals per game and second with 3.68 assists per game. The Bobcats 70 total assists was a program record and it marked the most assists of any West Coast team in the NAIA since 2015. UC Merced came out of the gates hot, winning four of their first five games and finished the season with 14 wins overall, their second highest win total in program history. The Bobcats played to a 14-5 record overall, and a 7-1 record in Cal Pac play to qualify for their eighth straight Cal Pac Tournament. The Bobcats went on to beat Simpson University, top-seeded Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and Marymount California University to win their second straight Cal Pac Tournament Championship. Andres Lua scored a 101st minute golden goal to keep the trophy in Merced and cap off an 8-1 home campaign. The Bobcats also earned their fifth straight berth to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round. Martins’ coached seven postseason selections in 2021, tied for the most in the Cal Pac. Juan Flores and Michael De La Cruz earned All-Cal Pac First Team honors. Flores also became the first player in program history to become a 2X NAIA Honorable Mention All-American. Kevin Capetillo finished the year as the conference’s assists leader and his 12 assists ranked him ninth in the nation, the highest ever national ranking for a Bobcat in total assists. 2021 was also a success academically for the Bobcats as they posted their highest cumulative GPA at the conclusion of the school year and saw Brycen Miller earn a spot on the Cal Pac All-Academic Team.


2020 was a season to remember for Martins and the Bobcats as they finished the conference slate with a perfect record and dominated their way to their first ever California Pacific Conference Tournament Championship trophy. The Bobcats won and earned a shutout in all six regular season conference games, outscoring the opposition 21-0. With that feat, Martins’ group became just the nation’s fourth team in the last ten years to earn a shutout in every conference game. The success carried over into the conference tournament where the Bobcats earned a 3-0 semifinal win over La Sierra and a 6-0 win over Benedictine University Mesa in the championship game. The win also resulted in the Bobcats fourth straight National Championship Opening Round appearance. While Martins was named the Cal Pac Coach of the Year, his student athletes earned plenty of recognition. Juan Flores was named a Honorable Mention All-American and the Cal Pac Player of the Year, Rodolfo Prado earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, and eight Bobcats in total were All-Cal Pac selections. 2021 marked the second straight year the Cal Pac Player of the Year belonged to the Bobcats and the second straight year that the Bobcats had a league-high eight postseason honorees. Additionally, four Bobcats earned Cal Pac Player of the Week awards and Marcos Ceballos was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American.


The 2019 season was the best yet as UC Merced advanced to its first ever NAIA National Championships Final Site and won a program record 16 games, four against nationally ranked opponents. A 10-1 record in conference play clinched the Bobcats' second straight Cal Pac regular season championship and an automatic berth to the National Tournament. Martins and company were sent to the Salem bracket where they beat #25 Menlo College in the 95th minute and edged undefeated and #14 Corban University in penalty kicks. The win over Menlo marked the Bobcats first ever National Tournament win, while the match against Corban allowed the Bobcats to become just the second active Cal Pac team to ever advance to the final site. The Bobcats were ranked for a two-week stretch during the regular season, including as high as #22 after beating Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to extend an unbeaten conference streak to 20 matches. In the NAIA Postseason Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the Bobcats found themselves ranked #17, the highest any team in UC Merced history has been ranked. Martins’ forward Marcos Ceballos capped off an incredible campaign with an honorable mention All-American honor. Ceballos was also the Cal Pac Player of the Year and was joined by seven other Bobcats recognized on the 2019 All-Cal Pac teams. Ceballos, Miguel Coronado, Agustin Guerrero, Rodolfo Prado and Marco Sobrevilla were first team selections.


In 2018, Martins led the program to their first regular-season California Pacific Conference Championship with a 10-0-1 record in league play, 13-5-2 overall. The strong campaign resulted in an automatic berth into the Opening Round of the NAIA National Championships. Martins’ Bobcats finished as one of the best offensive teams in the country. UC Merced ranked 3rd in the country with 3.8 goals per game, 4th with 3.3 assists per game. David Hernandez was between the posts and along with a strong backline, the Bobcats ranked 38th with seven shutouts. All of those numbers were also good for first in the California Pacific Conference. From September 12-November 4, the Bobcats had a 12-match unbeaten streak where they outscored their opponents 68-9. The ten wins in Cal Pac play were the most in program history.


Other notables include entering the season nationally ranked No. 23 in the NAIA and taking down then No. 22 Westmont College on August 22 to open up the brand new Bobcat Field.


Martins won two awards in 2018. He was voted the California Pacific Conference Coach of the Year for the third time in his career. He also earned the Cal Pac Coach of Character award.


Martins also produced both the Cal Pac Defensive Player of the Year (Ricky Rosas), Cal Pac Freshman of the Year (Rodolfo Prado) and a trio of NAIA Honorable Mention All-Americans (Rosas, Marcus DeCouto, Artemio Contreras.) Artemio Contreras became the program’s all-time points leader.


Prior to the 2018 season, Martins squad achieved great success and had one of its best seasons to date. The men's soccer team played to an overall record of 13-2-5, including 9-1-1 in California Pacific Conference Play and advanced to their third straight Cal Pac Championship game. Martins also helped guide the Bobcats to five straight shutouts to end the regular season, including a 2-0 shutout against Marymount California University to snap their 28-game winning streak against conference opponents. The stellar campaign ended in an automatic berth to the NAIA National Championships and a Top 25 ranking in the NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches Postseason Poll.


Born and raised in Los Banos, California, Martins graduated from Cal State Stanislaus in 2005 with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Kinesiology. While at Stanislaus, Martins was named All-CCAA on two occasions and was the school's first All-Far West Region selection. In 2005 Martins also played soccer for the California Gold of the USL Professional Development League.


Martins began his coaching career at CSU Stanislaus where he coached for three seasons, helping lead the Warriors to their first ever playoff appearance. After coaching at Stanislaus he was hired as the assistant men's soccer coach at Modesto Junior College. During Martins’ two-year stint he helped lead the Pirates to their first Big 8 Conference Championship in 2011 after the Pirates finished the season 13-2-6. MJC finished the 2011 season ranked No. 11 in the NSCAA Junior College polls.


In 2011 Martins completed his Masters of Arts degree in Education as well as making a move to the NCAA Division I coaching ranks as he was named the assistant women's soccer coach at CSU Bakersfield.


Martins’ coaching experience also stems to club soccer in California where he was the Head Coach for the Modesto Ajax Elite Girls Soccer program, helping them win the Nor Cal Premier Soccer League Championship back-to-back years in 2007 and 2008. He was also the head coach for the U-16 Boys Roadrunner FC team that was Coast Soccer League Champions and Nomads College Showcase Champions in 2012.


Martins resides in Merced with his wife Petra, sons Gunther and Albert, and daughters Natalia and Maria.