Florida’s Kennedy Martin Named Semifinalist for AVCA’s 2024 Division I Player of the Year Award

The sophomore is one of 14 players tabbed to the list.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida volleyball’s Kennedy Martin has been named a semifinalist for the AVCA Division I Player of the Year Award presented by Nike Volleyball, revealed on Thursday by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

Martin has had a historic season so far in the Orange and Blue. Playing in just 70 percent of Florida’s 83 sets, the Fort Mill, S.C. native currently ranks second in the nation for points per set (5.94), third for kills per set (5.19) and 50th for average hitting efficiently (.368). In SEC matches alone, her 6.22 points per set and 5.47 kills per set rank No. 1, while her 0.49 aces per set sits third. Furthermore, she has recorded double-digit kills in every match played wearing the Orange and Blue (45 matches).

Martin’s 2024 Notables:

* AVCA’s Division I National Player of the Week on Oct. 29.
* 2x SEC Player of the Week on Nov. 11 and Oct. 28
* 4x SEC Offensive Player of the Week (Nov. 11, Nov. 4, Oct. 28, Oct. 21)
* Became the first Gator in program history to earn a share of the SEC Offensive Player of the Week award for four-consecutive weeks
* Joins the list of just two former Florida players who were awarded SEC Offensive accolades four times in a single season: Alex Holston obtained the honor four times in 2014, while Kelly Murphy was the first to achieve four SEC Offensive Player of the Week accolades in 2010.
* Recorded 31 kills twice in four sets to set Florida’s individual single-game-kill school record during the 25-point scoring era. Her career-high marks the most kills in a four-set match, as former Gator Aury Cruz, the four-time AVCA All-American and three-time SEC Player of the Year, recorded 31 kills against Nebraska on December 8, 2001 in Florida’s Final Four match, which went into five sets. Cruz’s recorded 31 kills twice in her career when rally scoring went to 30 points.
The original list of 36 players was released Sept. 20, and the 16 additions were named Oct. 17. Redshirt senior Isabel Martin joined her fellow Gator on the Watch List<https://floridagators.com/news/2024/9/18/volleyball-martin-duo-tabbed-to-avcas-2024-division-i-player-of-the-year-award-watch-list.aspx>.

The names of the finalists will be released before the AVCA Convention. The 2024 AVCA Player of the Year will be announced on Friday, Dec. 20, in Louisville, KY, during the AVCA Convention. Players not on the semifinalist can still be added back in before the finalists are named.

List of AVCA’s 14 Semifinalists:
First Name

Last Name

School

Pos.

Class

Conference

Kendra

Wait

Creighton

Sr.

Big East

Kennedy