No. 1 Draft pick Caitlin Clark hypes up Iowa teammate Kate Martin after joining Las Vegas Aces: "Couldn't be happier"

Former Iowa star Caitlin Clark had a lot of support at Monday night's WNBA draft, with her former teammates, including Kate Martin, present at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, expecting to hear the record-breaker's name as the No. 1 draft pick.

Except there was one twist to the night left after the most predictable bit had ended. Seated in the gallery, with the fans allowed into the ceremony, Martin was asked to move to an aisle seat, which she promptly did, unaware of what was to come.

Her name was called out as the No. 18 pick by the defending WNBA champions, the Las Vegas Aces, to her immense surprise. Martin's fellow teammates, Gabbie Marshall and Jada Gyamfi, who were seated beside her, looked stunned.

Caitlin Clark, who, as expected, is headed to the Indiana Fever as the No. 1 draft pick, could not hide her delight at her teammate's good fortune, congratulating her on her Instagram stories.

"Couldn't be happier for you @katemartin03," Clark wrote.

Clark's IG stories

Caitlin Clark shares unique relationship with Kate Martin

Kate Martin was the hard-nosed captain of Iowa, where she was known as the glue that held the team together. While she was expected to be drafted, the No. 18 pick to the Las Vegas Aces came as a surprise to everyone, herself included.

After she was unexpectedly drafted, Kate Martin explained her thought process throughout the ceremony.

“A lot of emotions. I was hoping to hear my name called,” Martin told Holly Rowe on ESPN. “All I wanted was an opportunity — and I got it.”

Before the national championship game pitting the Iowa Hawkeyes against the South Carolina Gamecocks, Caitlin Clark paid Martin the ultimate compliment, crediting her for pushing the team to the heights that it reached.

"To be honest, I don't think I'd have the type of career if I don't have a teammate like Kate," Caitlin Clark said. "She's been one that has had my back. She holds me accountable. I hold her accountable. But I think at the same time, me and Kate are wired so similarly that we get each other on a different level ... She's one of the best leaders I've been around. She wants the best for her teammates. She's one of the most selfless people."

This is the first time in Iowa's history that it has had two players drafted in the same WNBA draft in 26 years.

It is perhaps fitting that Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin get to enter the professional level together and continue their careers in the WNBA.