Destinee Martinez

Classroom

Martinez is progressing toward a December 2014 graduation with a degree in sociology-criminology.

Character

The ultimate team leader who is willing to do it all for her teammates and the Sooner program…Leads through her actions on the field and in practice…Quite capable of being a vocal leader and has the ability to interact with her teammates in ways that earn her the respect of all she interacts with…Is someone her teammates are quick to turn to in times of stress – whether it is the bottom of the seventh with two out and down a run, a tough practice or after facing a challenge away from the game…Has a huge heart and shows through her words and her actions that she truly cares for her teammates and the program on and off the field of competition…Willing to compete at her best every day whether it is practice, offseason training or game time…One of the most dependable in the clutch on the Sooner team…Has been a leader in key putouts or key hits since her freshman year…Uses what she has learned from her position in her family (one older sister, two younger sisters) to be a role model, someone others can count on when things get tough, again whether it is on the field or off.

Community

A team leader in this area as well…Never more evident than it was during May 2013 when the OU softball team responded to the devastating tornadoes that hit neighboring Moore, Okla., as well as other parts of the Sooner state…Spent extended hours at various help stations, unloading donations and packing boxes for those who needed the assistance the most…Is one of the people who is locked in as soon as she interacts with a person, perhaps comes from being the second of four in her family…Has an older sister and two younger sisters and uses her experience from that role to interact with younger Sooner fans…Especially important last spring when the OU team “adopted” a youth softball team that had lost one of its players in the Moore tornado…Makes people feel instantly comfortable with her as soon as she meets them…Extremely outgoing and personable which makes her a popular player to the younger players who flock to support the Sooners and who the Sooners supported last spring…A key person as OU reached out to give the tornado survivors time when they didn’t have to think about the tragedy they had lived through, a time to smile.

Competition

Has picked up where she left off as a junior…Named Big 12 Player of the Week Feb. 25, the first time for her to receive the award in her career… Came after a week that she hit .500 and helped OU to its best weekend of the season to that point, a 4-1 mark at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic…Led the team in runs scored (7), RBI (8), on-base percentage (.556) and stolen bases (4) over the five games…Established a career high for hits in a game with four vs. Oregon State…Has started all 50 games as a senior…Has a .322 batting average for the season…Leads the team in stolen bases with 12…Is 12-12 in stolen base attempts…Among the top three in several other offensive categories…Has 58 putouts in center field with one error through 50 games…Named to the 2013 USA Softball Women’s National Team…Selected to the 201-11 USA Women’s Junior National Team…Helped that team win gold medals at the III Pan American Championship in August of 2010 and
at the International Softball Federation Junior Women’s World Championship in 2011…Played in all eight games for National Team with four starts in the outfield…Two-time WCWS All-Tourney team selection (2013, 2013)...Three-time All-Big 12 honoree…Two-time NFCA All Region selection (2011, 2013)… Has been a key player in the Sooner lineup since her freshman year…Has played in all 237 games OU has played since her arrival on campus and has started in 231 of those games, an incredible 97.5% starting mark for a position player…Has played centerfield throughout her career, serving as the captain of the Sooner outfield…Absolutely the player Sooner coaches want involved when the game is on the line…Hit an RBI triple and scored the game-tying run in the bottom of the 11th inning in OU’s win over Tennessee in Game 1 on the Championship Series of the Women’s College World Series…Has shown the ability to hit from any spot in the lineup…Led the Big 12 and posted fourth best OU single-season at-bat total with 230 as a freshman.