Class of 2020 big man Jhaylon Martinez commits to UNLV

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Friday, Aug. 9, 2019 | 9 p.m.

UNLV basketball picked up its fourth commitment in the Class of 2020, as former Coronado big man Jhaylon Martinez pledged to the Rebels on Friday evening.

Martinez, a 6-foot-10 forward-center, made the announcement via a social media video.

Martinez visited the UNLV campus in June and said at that time that the Rebels were his primary focus on the recruiting front. In the end, he chose UNLV over UNR, Colorado State, St. Mary’s, Northwestern and Washington State.

Three of UNLV’s four recruits in the 2020 class have ties to the Las Vegas area. Guard Nick Blake is a Vegas native who will play his final season of prep ball at a California school, and guard Donavan Yap is a born-and-raised star at Arbor View. Martinez is a Northern California native who moved to the area last season — after his one year at Coronado, he’s moving on to a prep school in Arizona to finish his high school career.

Shooting guard Isaac Lindsey, a Wisconsin product, is so far the only incoming Rebel from outside the area.

As a junior at Coronado last year, Martinez averaged 12.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. His ability to step outside and shoot with a smooth stroke figures to make him a style fit under UNLV head coach T.J. Otzelberger.

Martinez has previously said that Otzelberger compares him to Mike Daum, the 6-foot-9 forward who put up otherworldly numbers under Otzelberger at South Dakota State.

“They said they see me as playing like Mike Daum,” Martinez told the Sun in June. “He would pick-and-pop and get shots and take it to the basket with his versatility, and they’ve seen me playing and they said I have the skill set for that because I can pass and shoot it as a big. Coach Otzelberger said my skill set fits the style he wants to play.”