Jimmy Martelli enters his second season as assistant coach at Penn State in 2024-25.
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.
Martelli came to Happy Valley after serving as Director of Basketball Operations on Rhoades’ staff at VCU from 2017-23. The son of longtime and legendary Division I basketball coach Phil Martelli, Jimmy grew up around basketball and has logged nine years on the sidelines as a college assistant coach, including the 2006-07 season at Randolph-Macon under head coach Mike Rhoades.
Martelli played two seasons as an undergraduate at the University of Scranton before finishing his collegiate career at Dickinson College.
A basketball lifer, Martelli served as director for a collegiately-hosted basketball summer camp for eight years and is a veteran of a number of other prominent basketball camps.
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.
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-present – Penn State, Assistant Coach
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.
Martelli came to Happy Valley after serving as Director of Basketball Operations on Rhoades’ staff at VCU from 2017-23. The son of longtime and legendary Division I basketball coach Phil Martelli, Jimmy grew up around basketball and has logged nine years on the sidelines as a college assistant coach, including the 2006-07 season at Randolph-Macon under head coach Mike Rhoades.
Martelli played two seasons as an undergraduate at the University of Scranton before finishing his collegiate career at Dickinson College.
A basketball lifer, Martelli served as director for a collegiately-hosted basketball summer camp for eight years and is a veteran of a number of other prominent basketball camps.
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.
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-present – Penn State, Assistant Coach