For most of this past season Arizona religiously used an 8-man rotation with the occasional foray deeper into the bench. When a ninth player was needed it was usually Conrad Martinez, including a couple times during the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments.
But by and large, minutes were hard to come by for Martinez during his two seasons with the Wildcats. A bigger role is more likely elsewhere.
Martinez has entered the NCAA transfer portal, according to Wildcat Authority’s Jason Scheer, the fourth UA scholarship player to do so since the season ended last week.
The 6-foot sophomore guard from Spain appeared in 41 games in two seasons for Arizona, scoring 53 points with 32 assists and 13 steals. He averaged five minutes in 22 games in 2024-25, scoring 1.6 points per game while making 66.7 percent of his shots (including 5 of 10 from 3) and 87.5 percent of his limited free throw attempts.
Martinez scored a career-high nine points against Central Michigan in December, when he logged a career-best 20 minutes of floor time. Most of his appearances came in the final minutes of blowouts, though in the Big 12 Tournament semifinal and final he entered late in the first half, the same in the Sweet 16 loss against Duke when early foul trouble for Jaden Bradley kept him on the bench.
Playing the final 6:07 of the first half, Martinez had a steal and also hit a corner 3 that tied the game at 32.
He joins guard KJ Lewis and centers Emmanuel Stephen and Henri Veesaar in the portal from Arizona. The Wildcats currently have five scholarship players on the roster but that includes freshman Carter Bryant, who is expected to declare for the 2025 NBA Draft.