Former Iowa star Kate Martin reveals how she almost left college basketball after year 3

Kate Martin spent five years with the Iowa Hawkeyes and was part of a handful of different rosters. So, when her former college teammate Jada Gyamfi expressed her rough transition to playing basketball without her, Caitlin Clark, former coach Lisa Bluder and other pieces of the program, the Las Vegas Aces guard briefly touched on the time she nearly left basketball.

Echoing Gyamfi's sentiments, Martin said:

"I was like if Monika's not going to be around, I'm not going to be around," Martin said on the Fresh Tawk podcast. "And Monika is watching us back there (in the peanut gallery). It's just so funny. I literally was like, 'I don't think I can do college basketball without Monika,'" she added. (starts at 3:10)

Monika Czinano started playing for Iowa a year before Martin (2018) and transitioned to the WNBA in the 2023 off-season. She averaged 14.9 points and 4.9 rebounds on 67.1% field goal efficiency and was picked by the Los Angeles Sparks as the 26th overall pick.

However, due to the ongoing roster crunch in the franchise, the Sparks waived the Iowa forward alongside LSU’s LaDazhia Williams and Alexis Morris even before the 2023-24 season began.

Kate Martin's year without Monika Czinano laid her WNBA carpet

In the opening minutes of the podcast, Kate Martin said that she did not expect her to be selected in the WNBA and had been planning a road trip with her Hawkeyes teammates in the summer. However, she was the 18th overall selection in the 2024 WNBA draft, picked by the Las Vegas Aces.

When reflecting on her journey, Martin claimed that her last year without Monika Czinano proved pivotal in her big-league success.

“It's so funny because I would not be where I am right now if I wouldn't have done another year. Isn't it weird how life works out like that?” she said after speaking on her troubles adjusting to Czinano’s absence.

Kate Martin averaged 8.0 points and 4.6 rebounds on 46.4% shooting throughout her Hawkeyes career.

However, in the last season, Martin improved to 13.1 ppg and 6.8 rpg on 50.7% efficiency, helping the program to a Big Ten title and a second consecutive national championship appearance.