Kate Martin is an extremely beloved player in the women’s basketball space. She has recently gained lots of popularity within the last year and it didn’t just come from her vibrant personality or the fact that she was a reliable teammate alongside Caitlin Clark at Iowa, but because the girl can flat out hoop. This standout guard from the University of Iowa made a name for herself on the hardwood for her all-around skill coupled with ferocious tenacity. Hailing from Edwardsville, Illinois, Kate Martin attended Edwardsville High School, where she demonstrated her talent early on by leading her team to deep playoff runs and achieving multiple individual honors at the high-school level.
She would go on to commit to the University of Iowa in 2017. As soon as she got to Iowa, Martin consistently made an impact by contributing on both ends of the floor, which was vital in the team’s deep tournament runs. She has even demonstrated her resilience by overcoming an ACL injury in 2018 that sidelined her for a season. Despite this setback, Martin returned stronger and quickly became an integral part of the Hawkeyes’ team that was spearheaded by her and Caitlin Clark. Kate proved to be a vital part of the team’s back to back National Championship trips. For her college career with the Hawkeyes, Martin averaged around 8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. Her stats might not seem too extravagant in the box score, but they do reflect her elite versatility. She does everything on the court and I mean everything. She takes on the most challenging defensive assignments, rebounds at a high level, finishes around the rim efficiently, and can even step out and knock down threes pretty consistently. One thing that I love about Kate’s game is just the knack she has for making the right play at the right time as well as always being in the right position on the floor at the right time. This is a testament to not only her effort, but her incredible basketball IQ.
This is why the Las Vegas Aces took her in the second round of the 2024 WNBA Draft. A consistently championship contending team like the Las Vegas Aces, needed a player like Kate Martin who can be molded into the “glue” person of the team, meaning that she’s a positionless player that can provide energy, defense, and scoring as a role player. Even though she only averaged 2.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in 34 games during her rookie season, she slowly started to carve out a bigger role within the team. As she gains more experience, I think the Aces will begin to use her more because she can do so much on the floor without being the primary option, which is immensely valuable.
Kate Martin will have the same impact as she takes the floor in the Unrivaled league because she possesses all the tools such as playing great defense, facilitating, rebound, and making high-IQ decisions on the court, which will prove to be an asset for any team.
