NAPLES, Maine – After etching his name in the Keene State College men's basketball record books many times and being a part of momentous victories over his three years as an Owl, former KSC standout Ryan Martin '13 has written his name in a new entry: the Guinness Book of World Records.
A native of Wayne, Maine, Martin – who scored 1,303 points over his three years in the Elm City and is first in three-point percentage on KSC's all-time career list – has set new world record marks in two categories.
This March 26, he made 2,494 free throws in one hour to break the old record of 2,461 set by Perry Dissmore in July of 2021 in Tallahassee, Fla. – his first officially recognized record.
"This was a record we practiced 10 months for, just about weekly," said Martin. "The goal was to get up 45 shots a minute for a total of 2,700 shots. I thought if I could get up 2,700 shots then I would be able to beat the record."
Martin took 2,711 free throws in his attempt and made 92 percent of them. That number will be nothing new for Owl fans who followed his career, nor a surprise, as he is the program's all-time free throw percentage leader at 91.6 percent (307-for-335) and led all three NCAA divisions in that category in his sophomore season (99-for-103).
"It was not just an individual record, but a team record. Guys came in and practiced weekly and had to be super-efficient in delivering the basketballs back to me."
He expects the other attempt tried in April will also be officially recognized soon, as he made 1,086 threes from behind the NBA three-point line in one hour to break the old record by nine after making 1,372 high school three-pointers in the summer of 2024. The high school three-pointer record had not been an officially recognized Guinness category at the time, thus Martin will retry for that mark on November 10 at 6:00 p.m. That event will be held at Saco Middle School and will feature a food truck and be open to the public.
Martin played basketball at Maranacook High School and was Mr. Maine Basketball as a senior. He initially attended the University of Maine (Division I) before transferring to KSC following his rookie season and immediately became a key piece of an Owl team that went 53-30 including 27-15 in a competitive Little East Conference – one that received three NCAA tournament bids in 2011-2012. Martin scored 11 points and was one of four double-digit scorers in the Owls' memorable upset of top-ranked and undefeated Middlebury College on January 31, 2012.
Martin graduated with a degree in physical education in 2013 and recently was named the Player Development/Shooting Coach for the St. Joseph's College of Maine women's basketball team after previously serving as the head coach of the Lake Region High School boys basketball team since 2020.
