Seattle power forward Josh Martin became the first 2014 recruit for the Gophers on Monday night, telling the Star Tribune that he planned to commit to the University of Minnesota. He later made his announcement on Twitter.

"It was an easy decision in my mind," Martin said, shortly before tweeting his choice to play for the Gophers in 2014. "It was actually not as hard as most people think. It was hard to evaluate and what not, but when I was down there, everything just clicked."

The 6-8 Martin had also been seriously considering Florida State and Pittsburgh.

The Gophers have missed on an array of high-profile recruits. They were the last Big Ten school without a recruit before Martin said yes.

AMELIA RAYNO

Wittman earns weekly honor

Gophers senior and volleyball captain Ashley Wittman was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. It is Wittman's sixth career weekly conference honor and first in the defensive category. Wittman previously received weekly honors three times as a freshman and twice as a sophomore.

Wittman, a 6-foot outside hitter, led the Gophers offensive and defensive charge as Minnesota swept Indiana and No. 20 Purdue this past weekend. She had nine kills and eight digs in the victory over the Hoosiers, recording her 1,500th career kill along the way. On Sunday, Wittman added her fifth double-double of the season when she established match-highs in both kills (15) and digs (14). On the weekend, Wittman led the team with 24 kills, 22 digs (3.67 per set), and 29.5 points, while she ranked second with 10 blocks (1.67 per set).