Mike Martin’s memorable Florida State run concluding

The 2019 baseball season will bring to a close one of the longest and most successful coaching stints in all of college sports.

Florida State’s Mike Martin announced Monday that he will retire at the end of next season, capping a 40-year run as the Seminoles’ skipper.

Martin’s teams won at least 40 games every season and never missed the NCAA Tournament. Martin became the NCAA’s all-time wins leader last season, and his 13th win in 2019 will be the 2,000th of his career.

“I’m glad that they want me to continue coaching next season, and I thank all our former and current coaches, staff and most importantly our players for the consistent success of our baseball program,” Martin said in a Florida State news release. “You don’t win at our level without student-athletes who dedicate themselves to playing as a team and playing for something more than themselves.”

Here are five memorable seasons from Martin’s tenure:

1981: Mike Fuentes won the Golden Spikes Award, the first time a Florida State player claimed that honor. The Seminoles (56-23) won the second of 11 Metro Conference tournament titles under Martin that year before falling to Florida and Miami in the South Regional.

1986: Florida State reached the College World Series championship game, the first of two occasions under Martin and the third overall. The Seminoles (61-13) beat Indiana State 5-3 and Miami 7-2 before falling 9-5 to Arizona in the final winner’s bracket game. Florida State then had to beat Robin Ventura-led Oklahoma State (6-5) and Miami (4-3) to set up a rematch with Arizona, with the Wildcats winning 10-2. The Seminoles’ Richie Lewis, Luis Alicea, Bien Figueroa and Paul Sorrento made the all-tournament team, while Mike Loynd claimed the Golden Spikes Award.

1997: J.D. Drew, an outfielder from Valdosta who went on to a 14-year major-league career with the Cardinals, Braves, Dodgers and Red Sox, became the first Florida State player to win the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes Award in the same season. Florida State (50-17) hosted the East Regional that year but ran into an Auburn team that featured Tim Hudson, dropping 2-of-3 to the Tigers.

1999: While Miami denied Florida State a national title in a one-run affair, this College World Series appearance is better known for a trio of epic games against Stanford. After beating Texas A&M 7-3 to open the College World Series, Florida State (57-14) was sent to the elimination bracket of its four-team pool with a 10-6 loss to Stanford. After topping Cal State-Fullerton 7-2, however, Florida State beat Stanford 8-6 and 14-11, the second game lasting 13 innings before being decided on a Karl Jernigan home run, to win its pool. With Florida State playing on short rest, Miami then claimed the winner-take-all championship 6-5. Marshall McDougall was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, while Chris Chavez, Jeremiah Klosterman, McDougall, Matt Diaz and Sam Scott were named to the all-tournament team.

2008: Lee County’s Buster Posey had a breakout season in 2008, winning the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes Award. He made his major-league debut for the Giants the next year, beginning a career in which he has become a perennial all-star. Florida State (54-14) reached the College World Series but was quickly eliminated, losing 16-5 to Stanford and 7-5 to Miami.