Kate Martin, a former captain of the lowa Hawkeyes, experienced an unexpected turn of events when she was drafted by the reigning national champions, the Las Vegas Aces. Despite facing several rounds of cuts, she managed to secure her spot on the opening day roster. During the match on May 22nd against the Phoenix Mercury, which ended in a 98-88 loss, she contributed with two rebounds during her 14 minutes on the court at Michelob ULTRA Arena.

Leading up to the game, the team shared images of the players’ attire, showcasing Martin in an all-white outfit consisting of a shirt, shorts, and sneakers. Her former teammate from the Hawkeyes, Jada Gyamfi, who has been actively supporting her friends in the WNBA through social media, expressed her excitement for Martin’s success on her Instagram stories.

She captioned her story:

“Oh… my… goodness, 11/10, no notes, she ate,” Gyamfi wrote.

Gyamfi's IG stories
Kate Martin impresses new teammates

During her lowa Hawkeyes career, Kate Martin had the opportunity to play alongside perhaps the greatest shooter that college basketball has ever seen in Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark, and that trend is repeating itself in the WNBA.

She is teammates with standouts A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum on the defending champion Las Vegas Aces. Yet, they have all taken note of Martin’s work ethic that she embodied at lowa. In an in-house interview, Plum heaped praise on the former Hawkeyes captain, highlighting the qualities that make her a special player to have around any roster.

“Kate Martin is awesome. Martin picks up things so quickly. She’s an amazing sponge,” Plum said. “We nicknamed her ‘Kate Money Martin,’ so I think that could stick because she really is.”

“And when I say ‘Money,’ it’s not just about scoring and stuff. She’s just in the right place at the right time, making people better. And that’s what (head coach) Becky (Hammon) values, that’s what our coaching staff values and that’s why she’s going to be a great asset to our team.”

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Martin has hurdled the difficult part of being a professional WNBA player, securing a spot on the opening day roster of the Aces after being drafted No. 18 overall in the second round of the WNBA Draft.

The WNBA rosters are notoriously difficult to get into because there are only a total of 144 spots in the whole league with each team only guaranteed 12 players. To establish just how much of a feat Martin’s inclusion is, only 15 of the 36 drafted players from last year’s draft appeared in a game, with only 8 making the opening day rosters.

Kate Martin showed her steel by battling through five training camp cuts and one signing to be included in the Las Vegas Aces roster.