Martineau is a rare gem: a girl on the baseball diamond
Lewis Mills sophomore Lillian Martineau has become a bit of a social media sensation — who else gets online tips from Wade Boggs? — and that may indicate to some she is a Lilli-come-lately to baseball. Nothing could be further from the truth. Thanks to her dad, Chad, she has been a Mets fan since birth. She played Tball. She played Little League. She has never stopped playing the game. “My dad’s side of the family is a big baseball family,” Martineau said. “His older brother played. He played. I grew up watching it, going to Mets games. “I definitely wanted to play from watching it, but when I started playing I loved it — a lot.” When you ask about her favorite Mets player growing up, Martineau gives a well-considered “Hmm, that’s hard.” You can imagine the names whirling though her brain. As far as a pitcher, she decides, it’s Noah Syndergaard, whose blond locks flow nearly as long as Martineau’s. After another “Hmm” … “I would say Curtis Granderson,” Martineau said. “I really enjoyed watching him. I went one time and saw him hit a home run, which was awesome. I just feel like he is a great role model. Even though he isn’t in the MLB anymore, he still does a lot for his community, which is great.” The game means plenty to Martineau, more than plenty. She has been a starter for a couple of years with the girls basketball team at Lewis Mills, the regional high school for Burlington and Harwinton. Basketball is great fun. Baseball is her passion. Her dream is to play baseball in college. Football has some girls playing on state high school teams. Girls wrestling numbers are proliferating in the CIAC. I will not pretend to have gone through every name on nearly 200 rosters in the state, especially since some have yet to be posted for 2022 by the CIAC. It is safe to say the number of girls playing baseball is few. Maybe as few as Martineau
point guard at UConn while also improving defensively. After sitting out the 2019-20 season per NCAA transfer rules, he averaged 12.2 points and led the team in 3-point shooting (38.6 percent) as a junior.
Cole was also an excellent student. A 4.0 student at St. Anthony High where he was salutatorian of his senior class, Cole has been named to the All-Academic Team for both the Big East
and American Athletic Conference in 2019-20 and 2020-21. He graduated in May 2021 with an economics degree and played this past season as a grad student.
Cole finishes his career with 2,312 career points. He could have returned for an extra year, thanks to the NCAA’s “COVID rule” that allows all student-athletes from the 2019-20 season an extra year of eligibility.
While UConn certainly could have used him as a veteran scoring point guard next season, Cole’s mother,
Javicia, told Hearst Connecticut Media last month that she felt he was probably done with school.
“I was in school for a long time, school is not for everybody,” she said. “When you’re done, you’re done. I think that’s kind of where he is, from an academic standpoint. I think he’s just ready to be done with school and that hustle and bustle.”
UConn will have a hard time replacing Cole. The only point guards currently on the roster are Jalen Gaffney and Rahsool Diggins.
Gaffney, a junior, saw his numbers and playing time drop precipitously this past season. Diggins hardly saw the floor at all as a freshman. Sophomore Andre Jackson manned the point at times this season and is a good passer, but it’s hard to see him as a full-time point guard right now.
The Huskies very well may delve into the NCAA transfer portal to find a point guard replacement for Cole.