Martha Bishop’s athletic journey at Samford University is a study in versatility, faith, and perseverance. As a junior studying broadcast journalism with a minor in sports media, Bishop made her mark this school year as a two-time Southern Conference (SoCon) champion, excelling in both soccer and basketball.
Originally recruited for soccer during her junior year of high school, Bishop considered other programs but found Samford offered a small, Christian-focused school and competition at the Division I level.
While Bishop was originally recruited for Samford soccer during her junior year of high school, she ended up additionally playing basketball for Samford by her sophomore year. Bishop reached out to the basketball coaches during her sophomore soccer season. After a period of waiting, she earned a workout with then-assistant coach Matt Wise, now head coach of the women’s basketball team.
“I really feel like the Lord continued to put basketball on my heart,” Bishop said. “I played high school basketball in seventh, eighth and ninth grade, and I stopped. I literally hadn’t played basketball since freshman year of high school, except for intermurals here at Samford. So, I reached out to the coaches during my sophomore year mid-soccer season.”
Once Bishop was accepted to the women’s basketball team, her coaches spent time with her in vocabulary sessions, film sessions and other opportunities to work on player development. Bishop says that soccer is less structured than basketball, but playing both sports helps her be a better athlete overall.
“Soccer is very much free play and creative; basketball is a little more scripted,” Bishop said. “This past year, my junior season, is the first full-fledged season going from one sport to the other continuously. It’s only by God’s opening of doors that I was able to even play 2 sports in college.”
Bishop’s first full season balancing both sports demanded mental and physical adjustments, but the payoff was dramatic. The soccer team’s SoCon tournament was a projected outcome, grounded in the program’s long-time success history, while the basketball team’s SoCon tournament win was, in Bishop’s eyes, a Cinderella story.
“We started one in six in conference. The journey being one and six to winning our SoCon tournament, getting to go to March Madness, honestly, was just evidence of God’s work on our team. I think that He really laid His hand on our team,” Bishop said. “It really was quite the Cinderella story, but so much fun for both sports.”
Although Bishop is a decorated athlete, her coaches say that it is her character that makes her truly successful.
“Martha is possibly one of the most competitive kids that I’ve ever coached in my 25 years of being here. She’s just grown tremendously since she’s been here as a player,” Head soccer coach Todd Yelton said. “But what shows through the most about Martha is what a great heart she has, how she cares about people. She’s this pretty amazing kid, to be quite honest. As good an athlete as she is, she’s a massively better person.”
Wise shared the sentiment on Martha’s impact.
“She’s an excellent teammate. She’s an excellent friend first and foremost,” Wise said. “Our mission is to positively impact the lives of young women through the game of basketball while putting ourselves in a position to compete for championships. Martha absolutely embodies that, maybe more than anybody else in our program.”
As she looks forward to her final season, Bishop’s story is still unfolding. Whether on the soccer field or the basketball court, both of her coaches say her combination of talent, humility and dedication offers a model of athletic and personal growth, one where victories are celebrated, but character is paramount.
“My hope is that she will never find her identity in any of this,” Yelton said, “and that she will always find joy and purpose in helping others because that’s really who she is. And in that process, I would expect that there will be many personal accolades that could ultimately be in her future.”
Staff Reporter
