His rise through the GCU Club Soccer ranks has been swift, which shows how efficient Alex Martins has been with his time, his talent and his growth within the program. Now, Martins moves from a starter on the field for three years to helping ex-head men’s coach Damian Tule’ over the spring and summer to moving over to become the head coach of the Lopes’ Women’s Club Soccer program for 2025-26.
Over the summer, Martins has been helping out both Tule’ and now ex-head women’s club coach Vanessa Leyva with their programs, so it was a more natural transition for Martins when Leyva announced she was leaving in August. While Martins begins his first full year as a club sports head coach, he’s in his third year with the program and his seventh year in club soccer as a whole. A native of Portland, Oregon, Martins spent his teen years not only starring on the pitch at Ida B. Wells Barnett High School but also spending four years playing for Oregon Premier FC in Portland. Once he graduated from high school, Martins took his talents to the community college level as a two-year starter and captain for Portland Community College. Martins started all 27 matches he played in for the Panthers at center back, which made him a valuable commodity when he transferred to GCU in the summer of 2023 and slid right into the rotation at center back for the past two years for the Lopes, helping lead the program to its first-ever national tournament appearance last November. Martins earned USCCS All-American honors as a result last fall, and even earned a promotion to work with the Lopes’ NCAA Men’s Soccer squad this past spring.
Along the way, Martins has fortified his resume’ with stints as a camp director and operations assistant at UK International Soccer in Portland for the past two summers, and as a volunteer assistant at Phoenix Rush Soccer Club last year. Martins also used what he was learning for his degree to good use for the Lopes, developing training programs for GCU Men’s Club Soccer last season.
Martins turned the tassel this past April with a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from GCU. Martins is currently working towards his USSF D license after earning a USSF Grassroots license in 2023.
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