Kate Martin College

Kate Martin is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Golden State Valkyries and for the Laces BC in the women's 3x3 basketball league called ‘Unrivaled’. She was born on June 5, 2000, to parents Matt and Jill Martin in Edwardsville, Illinois. Martin was drafted into the WNBA in 2024 as the 18th overall pick in the second round by the Las Vegas Aces. On April 22, 2024, Martin signed her rookie-scale contract with the Las Vegas Aces. Eventually, on May 18, 2024, Kate Martin made her WNBA debut in a win against the Los Angeles Sparks, where she contributed 3 points, three assists, and five rebounds.

On June 9, 2024, Kate Martin made her first career start for the Las Vegas Aces in a game against the Los Angeles Sparks and delivered the best performance of her rookie season. Martin posted 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists stat line in the Aces' narrow 96-92 loss against Sparks. Overall, during her rookie season, Kate Martin averaged 2.6 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.2 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game, according to Basketball Reference. Due to the star-studded Aces backcourt featuring players like Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum, Tiffany Hayes, and Chelsea Gray, rookie Kate Martin received limited playing time off the bench, averaging just 11.5 minutes per game. After her rookie season, Kate Martin was selected as the sixth overall pick by the Golden State Valkyries in the 2024 WNBA Expansion Draft. In the 2025 WNBA season, Kate Martin is set to join the newly established Valkyries franchise, where she looks forward to taking on a bigger role.

Where did Kate Martin attend college?

Kate Martin had a successful college career at the University of Iowa, playing for the Hawkeyes from 2018 to 2024. Her college career began with challenges as she tore her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during practice before her freshman season and missed the entire 2018–19 season.

2019-20 Freshman Season

On November 7, 2019, Kate Martin made her debut for Iowa in a game where Iowa defeated Florida Atlantic 85–53. Martin came off the bench for the entire season and played in 24 games while averaging 8.1 minutes per game.

2020-21 Sophomore Season

Kate Martin became a starter this season and began playing alongside incoming freshman Caitlin Clark, marking the start of their famous backcourt partnership. She started all 30 games that season. On January 3, 2021, she broke her nose during a game against Illinois and wore a protective mask for six weeks.

2021-22 Junior Season

Before the start of the season, head coach Lisa Bluder praised Kate Martin’s leadership and called her the "glue" of the team. This ‘The Glue’ nickname stuck with Kate Martin throughout her career. Again, Kate Martin started all 32 games and helped Iowa win the Big Ten regular season title (shared with Ohio State). Martin had a great Big Ten Tournament in 2022 as she averaged 12.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game, leading Iowa to a 74–67 victory over Indiana in the championship game.

At the end of the 2021-22 season, Martin received the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for the second consecutive year and was recognized as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar for maintaining a 4.0 GPA. She also made the Dean’s List and completed her bachelor’s degree in Sports and Recreation Management in May 2022. By the end of the season, many of Martin’s teammates started praising her as the ‘coach in the locker room’.

2022-23 Senior Season

This season Kate Martin started all 38 games again and helped Iowa win their second consecutive Big Ten Tournament title. In the NCAA Tournament, Martin played a crucial role in Iowa’s historic run to the NCAA championship game. In the NCAA tournament semifinal against South Carolina, Martin had 7 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists as Iowa defeated defending champions 77–73 and ended their 42-game winning streak. She also scored 13 points and had six assists in the 2023 national championship game, but Iowa lost 102–85 to LSU. The game was Martin’s 100th career start for Iowa.

2023-24 Senior Season

Kate Martin returned for a sixth and final season, utilizing her redshirt year and NCAA’s COVID-19 eligibility extension while completing her Master’s degree in Sports and Recreation Management. On October 15, 2023, Martin played in the Crossover at Kinnick, a charity exhibition game against DePaul that set a record for women’s basketball attendance with 55,646 attendees and raised $250,000 for the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. Martin had a near triple-double of 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists in the game.

Then Martin led Iowa to their third consecutive Big Ten title by delivering one of the best performances of her career in the championship game against Nebraska. With Iowa down by 8 points, Martin hit a couple of clutch three-pointers in the final minutes to force overtime and then she hit another pair of three-pointers in OT, leading Iowa to a 94–89 victory.

In the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Kate Martin led Iowa to victory over LSU in the Elite Eight with 21 points and six rebounds. However, Iowa eventually lost to South Carolina in the national championship game, finishing as runners-up for the second consecutive year.

Kate Martin ended her Iowa career with impressive stats: 1,299 points, 756 rebounds, and 473 assists in 163 games. She started 139 consecutive games with Caitlin Clark, the longest streak in Division I basketball in the past 25 years. In her final year, she averaged 13.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game, with a career-high field goal percentage of 50.7%. At the University of Iowa’s "Golden Herkys" celebration, she was named "Women’s Hawkeye of the Year" by her fellow student-athletes.

Kate Martin High School

Kate Martin attended Edwardsville High School in Edwardsville, Illinois, where she led the team to four consecutive SWC, regional, and sectional titles. By the end of her senior year, her team had an overall record of 122–6 and went undefeated at home for all four years. Martin finished her high school basketball career with 1,518 points, the fourth-most in Edwardsville High School history.

In addition to basketball, Martin played four years of varsity volleyball as an outside hitter. She helped her volleyball team achieve 108 wins, two SWC titles, two regional championships, and a sectional championship.