2025 Commencement Speaker: Ryan Martin '02

Published Thursday, April 24, 2025

Ryan Martin '02

Southwest Minnesota State University is proud to announce that Mr. Ryan Martin, Class of 2002, will deliver the commencement address to the Class of 2025 at the 57^th Commencement Ceremony on May 10 in the SMSU R/A Facility. The ceremony begins at 10:00 am.

Raised in Somers, Connecticut, Ryan Martin was born with spina bifida and had both of his legs amputated at the age of two. He was adopted and raised in a family of 12, with several of his siblings living with some form of disability. But that did not stop them. He and his siblings were active and eager to try anything. Upon discovering basketball in his youth, Martins’s world went from wheelchair bound to college-bound.

Martin was eager to go to college, and with help from his high school counselor, found a college in southwest Minnesota that had an intercollegiate, co-ed wheelchair basketball team. He enrolled and arrived at Southwest Minnesota State University without ever seeing the campus.

Under the leadership of Coach Dale Erickson, Martin and his best friend and teammate, Josh Turek, led SMSU to the NWBA National title game in 2001. In his senior year, Martin joined the prestigious 1,000-point club and set the all-time assist record for the wheelchair basketball program. The intercollegiate athletic experience instilled in him a passion for basketball and for saying yes to opportunities. He credits Dr. Lloyd Petersen with being an influential force in his undergraduate career, in addition to Coach Erickson.

After graduation, he taught briefly in Arizona and while there joined the Phoenix Wheelchair Suns, playing in the 2005 NWBA All-Star games. Then a call came that changed his life. He was invited to play in the professional basketball league in Europe. He ultimately competed in 10 seasons of professional basketball in Spain and France, representing not only himself, and SMSU, but also the broader community of athletes with disabilities.

"Since leaving SMSU in 2002, I spent most of that time playing professional wheelchair basketball in Europe, specifically in Spain and France,” said Martin. “It was an incredible experience that shaped my journey."

While in Spain in 2006, he established a nonprofit organization, The Ryan Martin Foundation (RMF), to promote athletic opportunities for people with disabilities. Today Martin is the Executive Director of RMF, now an international non-profit organization. The RMF mission is to help youth and adult athletes with disabilities live independent, impassioned, productive, and fulfilling lives through sports training, mentoring, and education. RMF supports two year-round junior programs, one in Connecticut and the other internationally in Madrid, Spain.

"The motivation behind my nonprofit came from noticing the lack of representation for youth with disabilities at basketball camps. I felt a strong calling to provide these opportunities to those who are often marginalized," he said. "Our mission has always centered around increasing access to sports for youth with disabilities. It’s vital to provide these opportunities where they may not typically exist."

Martin is the advisor for the City University of NY Athletic Conference (CUNY) working to bring an adaptive sports program to the New York City campuses that serves 250,000 undergraduate students. In that capacity, Ryan has achieved bringing the first adaptive sports team in the history of CUNY and inspiring disabled athletes to return to college. He coaches the CUNY Wheelchair Basketball teams which launched in Fall 2020. This program was the first in the region competing in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) Collegiate Conference.

"I believe that adaptive sports can significantly impact not just physical health but also emotional well-being, fostering confidence and a sense of belonging among participants," said Martin. "At CUNY, what drew me in was the intersectionality of diversity—race, gender, disability, and socioeconomic status. My goal has been to create a new model that addresses these challenges in a meaningful way for all students."

In his free time, Martin also plays in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA). He is a member of the back-to-back reigning national champions, the New York Rolling Knicks. He serves as the Vice-President of the NWBA. He is also a consultant for the NCAA on their Inclusive Sports Model. In 2019 he was named to the Hartford Business Journal’s “40 under 40” class and received the same honor in 2015 from Connecticut Magazine. In 2022, he was named the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee College Coach of the Year. He is also a consultant for the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC).

Martin’s story is one of resilience, hope, and the unwavering belief that every individual has purpose and potential, as well as the power to turn obstacles into opportunities.

Ryan Martin resides in Connecticut with his wife, Lindsay, and their two dogs.

"I'm incredibly excited to return to campus as the commencement speaker. It’s a unique honor to share my journey and insights with the class of 2025," said Martin. He delivers his commencement address on Saturday, May 10 at 10:00 a.m. in the R/A Facility at SMSU.