Illinois Wesleyan University junior Caleb Martinez is balancing his role as a student-athlete with running his own business, according to an April 9 announcement. Martinez, a business major and right-handed pitcher for the university’s baseball team, owns and operates Bear SEO, a search engine optimization company he started two and a half years ago.
Martinez has grown Bear SEO throughout his time at Illinois Wesleyan. The company helps businesses improve their brand awareness by creating clean quality content. With support from the university’s business program, Martinez has served over 20 one-off clients and five recurring subscription clients. “The business program at IWU, I couldn’t have asked for a better support system,” Martinez said. “The professors and deans of business and economics have all supported me in my venture and have always pushed me to keep going with what I am building.”
When not working on his company, Martinez plays for the Titans baseball team as part of the bullpen staff. Over three years with the squad, he has appeared in 21 games with an average of 8.39 strikeouts per nine innings across more than 32 innings pitched. This season, he has appeared in seven games—including one start—and struck out six batters while holding opposing hitters to a .231 average.
Martinez said that balancing athletics with entrepreneurship helps him manage both responsibilities effectively: “Being able to step away from professional life and play sports is a really good balance for me,” he said. “The mental side of sports and the mental side of professionalism, I think both go hand-in-hand…being a student-athlete is a really good work balance for me.” He also noted that leadership skills gained through running Bear SEO translate onto the field: “I like being the person that drives the most impact…I like to be the figurehead, shake hands, kiss the babies, and make connections.”
He chose Division III athletics because it allows him to pursue both baseball and his entrepreneurial interests while connecting with others who value academics alongside athletics. Reflecting on DIII Week at Illinois Wesleyan University—which celebrates this balance—Martinez said: “DIII week for me embraces the balance of academics and athletics…all of us are playing because we love the sport, not because we are treating it like a job.”
