Kate Martin selected in Round 2 of the WNBA Draft by the Las Vegas Aces
When Kate Martin announced that she would return for her sixth year at Iowa back in February of 2023, the reason wasn’t to increase her odds of having a professional basketball career. She wanted to try to get back to the Final Four and play one more year at the school she dreamed of playing at when she was a little kid. Her performance on the court in her final year with the Hawkeyes earned her this opportunity.
“People are going to remember her as this tough kid that’s got grit, is a leader. I’ve termed her as the glue of our team so much,” said Coach Lisa Bluder at the Final Four in Cleveland. “Kate Martin’s legacy will go down as one of the best leaders ever.”
On Monday night, Kate Martin was selected by the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces with the #18 overall pick in the second round of the 2024 WNBA Draft. She will be reunited with former Iowa teammate Megan Gustafson who signed a two-year deal with the Aces in late January. They were both on the 2018-19 Elite Eight team.
“A lot of emotions, I’m really happy to be here…I was hoping to hear my name called and all I wanted was an opportunity and I got it,” said Martin during an interview with Holly Rowe on ESPN. “I have a really good work eithic, but more than anything, I think I’m a very versatile player. I can score at multiple levels and I can guard multiple positions, but I’m really excited to get there.”
Kate becomes the 18th Hawkeye player to be drafted or signed to a WNBA team. Earlier this evening, Caitlin Clark became just the second player in Big Ten history to be drafted #1 overall and just the third Iowa player to be selected in the first round.
A look back at Kate Martin’s career at Iowa
A native of Edwardsville, Illinois, Kate Martin was a two-time All-State selection, helping lead her team to a State Tournament runner-up finish in 2017 and a State Tournament semifinal appearance in 2018.
Kate arrived at Iowa as a true freshman for the 2018-19 season, but missed the entirety of the Hawkeyes run to the Elite Eight with a torn ACL. She returned as a redshirt freshman in 2019-20 and appeared in 24 games, averaging 2.4 points, and 1.8 rebounds per game. Her first career basket came in an 85-53 win over Florida Atlantic.
Starting with her redshirt sophomore season in 2020-21, Martin became a key contributor for the Hawkeyes. She averaged 7.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, with Iowa advancing to the Sweet 16. The next two seasons, Kate’s numbers were very similar, earning the nickname “The Glue” of the team due to her leadership and her willingness to do a little bit of everything on the court.
“She truly is one of the best captains I’ve ever had,” said Coach Bluder. “What makes Kate so tremendous is she works so hard all the time. She demonstrates the level of play that you want out on the court.”
This past season, with McKenna Warnock and Monika Czinano no longer on the team, Martin seized the opportunity to become a secondary scorer behind Caitlin Clark. She averaged career-highs for both points (13.1 ppg) and rebounds (6.8 rpg), while she scored in double figures in 30 of the Hawkeyes 39 games. Kate became the firsts player in Iowa women’s basketball history to total 900+ points, 500+ rebounds, 400+ assists, 120+ steals, and 60+ blocks in a career. She earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors and put up 21 points against LSU in the Elite Eight to help send the Hawkeyes to back-to-back Final Fours.
Career Highlights
Career-High Points: 25 points vs Drake (11/19/24) Career-High Rebounds: 16 rebounds vs Penn State (2/8/24) Career-High Assists: 13 assists vs Dartmouth (12/21/22) Career-High Three-Pointers: 6 made threes vs UConn (11/27/22)
Martin finished her career at Iowa with 1,299 total points, 756 rebounds, 473 assists and 149 made three-pointers. She ranks 5th in program history in assists, 15th in rebounds and became the 43rd player at Iowa to eclipse 1,000 career points.
