Former Iowa icon Kate Martin reacts to 2025 DL Iose Epenesa's commitment to her alma mater: "So proud"

Former Iowa icon Kate Martin has entered the pros but still stays in touch with athletes from her alma mater, like Iose Epenesa. It was announced that the Hawkeyes earned a commitment from Epenesa, a six-foot-four, 240-pound defensive linebacker.

The Las Vegas Aces rookie shared an encouraging message for Epenesa via an Instagram story. She wrote:

"So proud & happy for you!!"

Kate Martin has always supported fellow athletes, which is why she wished the defensive linebacker well on his journey with the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Iose Epenesa is a talented product of Edwardsville High School and was a four-star student recruit, ranked 42nd nationally in the 2025 recruiting class, as per the 247Sports Composite. Committing to Iowa was a decision that was influenced by his deep ties with the school.

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Iose Epenesa has strong ties with Iowa

Iose Epenesa's father, Eppy, also played for the Iowa Hawkeyes, as did his brother, A.J., who was a star player, accumulating 26 career sacks for the team.

A.J. was drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills. Additionally, Iose's other brother, Eric, is a linebacker on the Hawkeyes' current roster.

Many Iowa fans were highly interested in Iose's recruitment because of the family's tie with the school. Along with Iowa, he took visits to Miami, Missouri, Penn State, Texas, Oregon, Illinois, Utah and Michigan.

Mason Woods, the son of Hawkeyes special teams coordinator LeVar Woods, talked about Epenesa's decision to commit to Iowa. He said, as per Hawk Central.

"He has too many people in his ear telling him where to go, all that," Woods said. "I'm just trying to be like kinda his support system and tell him, just do whatever makes him happy. But I feel like he knows where (home is)."

The Iowa Hawkeyes have added many talented players to the roster in this year's recruiting class. They bagged a verbal commitment from Woods, a three-star cornerback CJ Bell, three-star defensive lineman Brad Fitzgibbon and five-star specialist Scott Starzyk.