BLACKSBURG, Va. – Florida State’s Martin Somerville is used to playing with the basketball in his hands at the most crucial times in important games.

He’s earned the trust of his coaches and teammates throughout his career and that trust has come to the forefront during his first season as a Seminole.

Somerville enters Saturday’s game against Virginia Tech with a 2:1 assist:turnover ratio in the first 24 games of his Florida State career. He has played well since ACC play began against North Carolina in late December. Somerville has played especially well in the last two games with nine assists against zero turnovers and 55 minutes played against Notre Dame (six assists, zero turnovers, 31 minutes played) and Virginia (three assists and zero turnovers in 24 minutes played). Somerville has 23 assists and only four turnovers (5.8:1 A:TO ratio) in the last eight games since a zero turnover performance in 21 minutes of playing time against Syracuse.

Somerville and his Seminole teammates travel to play the Hokies on Saturday with the tip coming at 2:00 p.m. on the ACC Network. Doug Sherman and Scott Williams have the television call.

Jeff Culhane and Jacob Ridenhour have the call live on the Seminole Sports Network and on Facebook Live on the Florida State Men’s Basketball Facebook page. Check out their Courtside Cam Broadcast on the FSU MBB Facebook and X pages, the Seminoles YouTube Channel, and on the Seminoles Unconquered app.

“My goal when I have the basketball in my hands is to make the right play,” said Somerville. “Our coaching staff emphasizes making the right play. I feel that I have grown up in the sport of basketball as a strong ball handler and as a playmaker.”

In helping lead the Seminoles to four wins in their last six games entering Saturday’s game against Virginia Tech, Somerville has continuously made the right plays.

Beginning with Florida State’s victory over Miami, Somerville has totaled only four turnovers in those six games and 165 minutes. He has totaled 21 assists, including his season-high of 6 assists against Notre Dame. In Florida State’s victory over the Fighting Irish, Somerville totaled a clean statistic sheet with six assists, zero turnovers, and seven points in a season-high 31 minutes played.

Against Notre Dame, Somerville handled the ball more than usual with starting point guard Rob McCray V in foul trouble. His six assists and zero turnover performance marked the third time in his career that he had totaled at least six assists and zero turnovers in a single game.

“Martin has had a great impact on our team,” said head coach Luke Loucks. “His transition to the ACC level has been seamless. The most important quality Martin brings to our team is his leadership. He’s a coach on the floor; he’s got a way about him because he is a vocal leader, and he’s not afraid to hold his teammates accountable. His teammates gravitate towards him and that’s one of the signs of a good leader.”

Not only is Somerville a most important Seminole with the basketball in his hands, but he’s an incredibly multi-talented and versatile player.

Somerville is one of Florida State’s defensive leaders with 37 steals and one of the team’s top shooters with a team-leading 48 3-point field goals made. He’s tied for 11^th in the ACC in steals and in the top 15 for 3-point field goals made, while averaging 8.4 points scored per game.

“I’m learning how to defend with a purpose, communicate well with my teammates, being able to drive and find guys, and mostly finding a way to win basketball games. I hope to take even more steps to becoming a better player in the coming games.”

Somerville has played very well with the basketball in his hands during the first two seasons and 56 games of his career. He had an assist:turnover ratio of better than 2.4:1 during his only season at UMass Lowell and has a ratio of nearly 2:1 in his first season at Florida State.

Somerville is protecting the basketball even better in ACC play with an assist:turnover ratio of 4:1 (28 assists against only four turnovers) in the first 11 ACC games of his career.

As proud as he is of his success distributing the ball this season, he is as proud of his progress of becoming an outstanding defender.

“As a team the more steals we get on defense, the more possessions we get on offense,” said Somerville. “Coach Loucks gives us the freedom to be aggressive on defense. Many steals are based off effort. Others are because I feel I have quick hands, and I am active on defense.”

Somerville’s quick hands on defense have allowed him to earn 84 steals in the first 56 games of his collegiate career (1.5 spg). At his current pace, he should reach the 100 steals plateau by the end of his sophomore season.

His impact is also felt with his success from the 3-point line.

Somerville has made 123 career-3-point shots in his first 56 games on the college level including 48 this season. He made his Florida State high of five 3-point field goals and scored his Seminole career-high of 23 points against Jacksonville and made four shots from distance and scored 18 points on the road in ACC play at Syracuse.

“Martin has many qualities on the basketball court that you can’t teach,” said Loucks. “His 3-point shooting ability, and his improvement on defense has helped us improve as a team. He can play on-ball. He can play off-ball. Martin brings a lot of things to the table. He’s a guy who can knock down shots from anywhere on the floor and can create instant offense which is huge for us.”