Jimmy Martelli returned to VCU as associate head coach in April of 2025, following two seasons as an assistant coach at Penn State.
His first season back in Richmond was a memorable one, as he helped steer the Rams to an Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament title, a share of the league's regular season crown, and an NCAA Tournament appearance that saw VCU knock off North Carolina in the first round. That squad's 28 victories were tied for the second most in school history, and four Rams received All-Atlantic 10 Conference honors, including first team selections Lazar Djokovic and Terrence Hill Jr.
In May of 2026, Martelli was one of just 25 coaches selected for the inaugural NABC Flight School on Nike's campus outside of Portland, Oregon.
In 2024-25, Martelli helped the Nittany Lions set a program record for single-season scoring average with 79.1 points per game. PSU also ranked second in the Big Ten in steals and third in turnovers forced per game, and earned two wins over top-15 ranked opponents. He was instrumental in signing both the highest-ranked recruiting class and highest-ranked recruit in program history in Kayden Mingo as the lead recruiter of the Class of 2029 that was signed in November 2024.
Martelli helped lay a strong foundation during his first season in Happy Valley in 2023-24 as the Nittany Lions earned nine Big Ten wins, the second-most by a first-year coaching staff in program history. Penn State defeated two top-15 ranked teams and four Nittany Lions earned All-Big Ten honors. Martelli played a key role in Penn State making an immediate impact on the recruiting trail, helping to land a top-25 recruiting class in the staff’s first cycle at Penn State with the signing of four highly-touted prospects for the Class of 2028.
From 2017-23, Martelli served as director of operations on Mike Rhoades' VCU staff. His efforts helped lift the Rams to a pair of Atlantic 10 Conference regular season titles (2019, 2023), as well as the league's tournament championship in 2023. VCU reached the NCAA Tournament three times during Martelli's first VCU tour of duty (2019, 2021, 2023).
The son of longtime and legendary Division I basketball coach Phil Martelli and the brother of current VCU Head Coach Phil Martelli Jr., Jimmy grew up around basketball and has logged a decade on the sidelines as a college assistant coach, including the 2006-07 season at Randolph-Macon under Rhoades.
Martelli played two seasons as an undergraduate at the University of Scranton before finishing his collegiate career at Dickinson College.
He received his bachelor’s degree from Dickinson in 2005. Martelli is married to the former Julie Lambi, who is the all-time scoring leader in Towson field hockey history. They have three daughters, twin sisters Brynley and Avery, and their youngest daughter, Callan.
Jimmy Martelli Coaching Career
2005-06 – Dickinson College, Assistant Coach
2006-07 – Randolph-Macon, Assistant Coach
2007-10 – Robert Morris, Assistant Coach
2010-13 – Rutgers, Assistant Coach
2017-23 - VCU, Director of Operations
2023-25– Penn State, Assistant Coach
2025-present - VCU, Associate Head Coach
