Marty Stockwell

Jamestown native Marty Stockwell found several text messages on his phone Monday night after the University of South Florida men’s basketball team opened its 2025-26 season with a dominant 102-67 victory over Florida A&M.

All of them were from his golfing buddies back home who were watching the game on ESPN+, and all of them said pretty much the same thing, something along the lines of, “I can see you on the bench.”

Marty’s friends will likely be repeating that phrase pretty regularly moving forward because, one, the Bulls’ games will be televised on ESPN quite frequently this winter and, two, Marty’s “best-seat-in-the-house” location isn’t about to change.

That’s because the just-retired math teacher from Jamestown High School is now the director of player personnel for the Bulls.

“I’m like a kid in a candy store, for sure,” Marty said Wednesday night.

If it’s possible, South Florida head coach Bryan Hodgson is even more excited.

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Marty, 55, arrived in Tampa late last week after completing his nearly 33-year JHS teaching career. For a quarter-century he also served as an assistant coach for the boys basketball team where he played an integral role in guiding the Red & Green to multiple sectional titles and five trips to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association final four.

One of the players he coached during his tenure was Hodgson (Class of 2005).

“It’s amazing to be able to bring Coach Stockwell in as a part of my staff,” said Hodgson, who is in his first year at South Florida. “He played such a major role in my development as a young man and as a basketball player.”

Hodgson foresees Stockwell doing the same for the Bulls.

“This is something that’s been on my mind for a while,” Hodgson said. “He’s traveled down a ton to hang with me during my stints at both Alabama and Arkansas State. He would always stay at my house and we would hang out at night … and talk hoops. It’s been really cool for me.”

Added Marty: “What a great opportunity he’s offered me. I’ve been lucky enough to have coached him, we’ve stayed friends and he knows I would have the ability, the want, the desire to be a coach and be committed to the program. He’s the reason I’m here. It’s that simple.”

Living in Tampa has other benefits, too.

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Another member of Hodgson’s staff is graduate assistant Jenna Stockwell, Marty’s youngest daughter. The 2021 JHS and 2024 University of Alabama graduate will be handling the analytics for South Florida, just as she’s done before at Alabama and at Arkansas State.

“Having (Marty) and Jenna both here is also really cool,” Hodgson said. “Jenna is a rising star in this business. She’s so intelligent and has a true love for the game. We may have one of the few father-daughter combos on a staff in men’s college hoops.”

Rooting Marty, Jenna and Hodgson on from Jamestown will be Beth Stockwell, Marty’s wife and Jenna’s mom. In her final year of teaching at Southwestern Central School, Beth watched the Bulls’ season opener on TV and plans to join Marty and Jenna in Uncasville, Connecticut, this weekend when South Florida takes on George Washington University at Mohegan Sun Arena. Ultimately, Beth will move to Tampa next summer upon her retirement.

“She’s making a big sacrifice (this year),” Marty said.

Meanwhile, he and Jenna are roommates.

“Not only is she showing me the ropes (of the Bulls’ basketball program),” Marty said, “she’s also cooking dinner, so it’s a double-win for me, for sure.”

Winning is the operative word around the South Florida campus these days, too.

“We’ve got a lot of potential, for sure,” said Marty, who will, among other responsibilities, be doing individual work with the post players. “Whether it comes together (remains to be seen). We’re playing a tough schedule. George Washington is a great team, a mid-to-high major test to see where we’re at. … We’re going to the Bahamas and we’ll play at Oklahoma State, (so) let’s see what we’ve got.”

While Marty will be doing plenty of traveling over the next five months, Jamestown will always be where his heart is. In fact, he has a photo of the boys high school staff on his desk in his new office. In the image with him are Billy Miley, Tage Hall and Ben Drake after one of Drake’s career milestone victories.

“I’ll be a Red Raider forever,” Marty said. “That’s where it started. It’s my home and that’s what made me who I am.”