Zach Martini Returns Home to Rutgers, Ready to Lead Young Stars

Zach Martini has played deep into March before, and he was determined to do it again. He couldn’t think of a better place to attempt to return there than close to home at Rutgers. So when he entered the transfer portal, and Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell called him less than an hour later, it became clear where the former Princeton forward should use his final year of eligibility.

“It was a no-brainer,” the Warren, N.J., native said Tuesday during Rutgers media day. “I love New Jersey, I’ll rep New Jersey ’til the day I die. So to come back here, play in a gym like this, with fans like this, I committed within a week.”

There is significant hype around Rutgers, mostly due to the arrival of five-star freshmen Dylan Harper and Airious “Ace” Bailey. But Pikiell created a strong supporting cast for them, and the 6-foot-7 Martini is a major part of that.

A court-spacer, quality rebounder and strong defender, Martini was named one of two team captains — returning senior guard Jeremiah Williams is the other — an early sign of his value that goes beyond the court.

Martini came to Rutgers to provide leadership and do the dirty work, to play for a winner one last time — he reached the Sweet 16 with Princeton in 2023 — and help mold two young stars.

“It’s not every day you get to play with two future lottery picks,” said Martini, who averaged 8.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and shot 38.5 percent on 5.4 attempts from 3-point range last year for Princeton. “I’m not the type of guy who’s going to demand 10, 20 shots. If I shoot three shots a game, I shoot three shots. If I shoot five shots, I shoot five shots.

“There’s a sense of maturity to that, to know that I’m not the star of the team. But I can be the star in other facets of the game. I take pride in being someone who these young guys look upon to lead us through the Big 10 season. That’s sexy to me.”