Riley Martin had his career planned out.

Entering his senior year at Division II Quincy University, the left-handed pitcher had the career school strikeout record and some other records within his sight that he wanted to try and rewrite and then head off into the medical field. He had taken his pharmacy college admission test (PCAT), been accepted at Southern Illinois Edwardsville and registered to start his post-playing career.

“I had everything set up for pharmacy school,” Martin said. “I was enrolled, did the early acceptance stuff, got all that stuff done in the offseason and kind of just went into the season just wanting to have fun.

[WATCH: Catch an exclusive interview with top prospect Matt Shaw after his spring debut]

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the 2020 season was wiped out. Quickly, Martin knew he didn’t want his baseball career to end like that. So, he deferred his acceptance to pharmacy school and spent the spring and summer of 2020 on bulking up to try and put his name amongst Quincy’s best.

Just as importantly as building strength, though, Martin spent the downtime digging into data to unlock a new level. As a lefty, he had been able to coast with a traditional mix.

“I thought I should throw sinkers and changeups [and] a slider,” Martin said.

Quincy’s coach at the time, Josh Rabe, was an alum and had played 38 games across two seasons with the Twins. For a division II program, the baseball setup was strong. Since 2016, the school has had 5 players drafted.

And the coaching staff had someone, Robert Frey, who had spent time at Driveline Baseball in Washington state that and specialized in baseball data and analytics for the team.

“I didn’t realize that I had a good ride heater at the time,” Martin said. “He said, ‘Hey, you should throw a curve ball and a four-seam heater at the top.’ So, I started doing that.”

So, Martin began relying on the fastball-curveball mix he still uses today. He had a new pitch-mix and was throwing harder and the results were eye-popping.

Martin entered his senior season 59 strikeouts away from the school record. In his first three games, Martin had 38 in 22 innings.

“I was punching the world, I was having a lot of fun with it,” Martin said. “Baseball was really fun at the time.”

[MORE: Travis Jankowski compliments Cubs’ ‘Championship culture’]

Baseball stopped becoming just a game, too. Scouts were taking notice of this 6-foot, 1-inch lefty who was punching out seemingly every hitter he faced.

“[Rabe] said, ‘Hey, you’re getting some interest; don’t let that affect how you play. Just keep doing what you’re doing, and things will work out for you,’” Martin said.

It never bothered him. Martin stuck out a whopping 152 hitters in just 78.2 innings —setting the single season strikeout record and becoming the school’s all-time leader in that category, too. All that while posting a 3.55 ERA and helping lead Quincy to the regionals of the NCAA Division II tourney.

Still, though, Martin was walking a fine line between being too giddy about a professional career and reality. So, he was still planning on going to Edwardsville to begin grad school when his college season ended.

“Pharmacy school was still in the back of my mind, but it was like, this might be real,” Martin said. “I’m starting to get some interest from some teams.”

Then, just two weeks before he’d have to go to begin classes, he received the phone call of a lifetime: he had been drafted by the Cubs in the 6th round in 2021. His baseball career wasn’t over.

“I called [SIU-Edwardsville] and said, ‘Hey, yeah, I’m not gonna come. I got this other option,’” Martin quipped. “It really wasn’t a decision. I was like, I’m doing that.”

[MORE: Javier Assad sidelined for start of Cubs’ season]

Martin continued his strikeout prowess in pro ball. In 14.2 innings at Single-A Myrtle Beach, he struck out 21 in 2021. The next two years, he racked up 215 strikeouts in 141 innings across four minor-league levels. Last season at Triple-A, Martin had a 4.48 ERA with 91 strikeouts in 60.1 innings.

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing, either. With all that strikeout potential comes some command struggles. He’s had double-digit walk rates at every level of the minors, except for his 2022 campaign at Single-A (8.3%). With Iowa in 2024, he struck out 32.7% of hitters and walked 16.2%.

Some of those walk issues, he believes, are between his ears.

“I think for me, it’s the mental [side],” Martin said. “The physical aspect is there. It’s just having a clear mind out there and just staying locked in throughout the entire outings and not letting one pitch, one bad pitch or a couple bad pitches affect where I’m at.”

Improving in that area could have him debuting in the majors sooner rather than later. Martin was a non-roster invitee to big-league camp this spring and was returned to the minors over the weekend, but the experience was immense. He was around major league relievers and pitchers and faced them in live batting practices and games, too.

“It’s awesome,” Martin said. “I feel like I belong, so that’s been good. For me, it’s just taking information in and learning from that and learning how to get better pitch to pitch out there in the game and just having a clear mind.”

Martin was sort of right — he figured he’d be starting the next chapter of his life around this time, but he figured it’d be in a white lab coat. Instead, it could be in a white jersey with blue pinstripes in front of 40,000 people.

“That’s something I could do maybe a couple of years from now if I’m done playing,” Martin said. “It’s always a good backup plan.”