LBSU’s redshirt freshman opposite Logan King racked up 14 kills in a winning effort over freshman outside hitter Gabi Martinez and the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos at the Pyramid on Oct. 3. Martinez and King battled it out for the Big West Freshman of the Year award this season, with Martinez taking the accolade in the end. Diego Perez | Long Beach Current

Long Beach State women’s volleyball redshirt freshman opposite Logan King had a historic 2025 campaign, tying the record for the most Big West Freshman of the Week awards with seven in a single season. 

However, King was robbed of the Freshman of the Year award. 

UC Santa Barbara freshman outside hitter Gabi Martinez took home the Big West Freshman of the Year award after winning the Freshman of the Week award just three times compared to King’s seven. 

“Martinez is an awesome player, and this is nothing against her, but we really missed on not getting Logan King freshman of the year,” LBSU head coach Natalie Reagan said. “To be freshman of the week seven out of the 14 weeks and the stat lines that she has, and her carrying this team at times, I really felt like that was a missed opportunity.”

King’s seven Freshman of the Week awards were the most a player has won since 2015, when Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Adlee Van Winden won seven en route to taking home Freshman of the Year.

King, the Canadian native, dominated throughout the season, opening the year in September with back-to-back Freshman of the Week awards, while Martinez earned the award for the first time to close out the month.

After Martinez took her first award home, King went on to win the weekly accolade three out of the four weeks in October, while Martinez was not awarded throughout the month.

In the final month of the season, Martinez ruled the first two weeks, earning the award back-to-back before King received the final two weekly awards of the regular season. King and Martinez split the month of November as the best Big West freshmen.

With the significant gap between the two players, one might think the weekly awards don’t show the whole picture, and that maybe individual stats help Martinez’s case for Freshman of the Year. 

They don’t. 

LBSU redshirt freshman opposite hitter Logan King spikes the ball past the UCI defense during the first round of the Big West Championship Tournament on Nov. 26. King had 11 kills in the match. Ethan Cohen | Long Beach Current

King averaged more kills per set than Martinez with 3.59, finishing third in the Big West. Martinez averaged 2.81 and finished 13th in the Big West. 

Martinez’s hitting percentage was .251, and once again, King performed better, averaging .273 while attacking 254 times more than Martinez. 

King finished the season with 424 total kills, leading the Big West, whereas Martinez finished her season with 320 kills, finishing 11th in the conference despite playing in just four fewer sets. 

The Freshman of the Year had 13 assists and 18 service aces, and King outperformed those stats too, doubling Martinez’s assists with 26 and finishing the season with 20 service aces and just three more service errors than Martinez. 

King outperformed Martinez statistically on the defensive end as well, finishing with 262 digs compared to Martinez’s 154. King finished in the top 20 in total blocks in the conference with 89, whereas Martinez is not found with 50.

The Freshman of the Year did not outperform King in any major statistical category, as King finished first in the Big West with total points, 491, and fourth in points per set at 4.16. Martinez landed herself in 12th with 3.24.

There is no case where Martinez deserves this award over King. 

When analyzing the overall success of both teams, LBSU finished 22-9 and was the No. 3 seed in the Big West Tournament, while UCSB finished 23-9 and was the No. 4 seed in the tournament, where both teams were eliminated in the semifinals.

King reflected on not earning Big West Freshman of the Year after LBSU’s first-round playoff victory over UC Irvine on Nov. 26, where King recorded 11 kills in a sweeping effort. 

“It’s all good … all the freshmen have worked really hard,” King said. “I’m always gonna push myself as hard as I can, and if I maybe didn’t do enough to get that accolade, then that just means more work from my side.”