Kate Martin


Kate Marie Martin is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Valkyries of the Women's National Basketball Association and for the Breeze of Unrivaled. She played college basketball for the Iowa Hawkeyes. She was selected in the second round by the Las Vegas Aces in the 2024 WNBA draft.
Martin attended Edwardsville High School in her hometown of Edwardsville, Illinois. Martin captained the Iowa Hawkeyes for four seasons, playing alongside two-time national player of the year, Caitlin Clark. She helped lead Iowa to their first national championship game as a senior in 2023 and helped Iowa return to the national title game the following year.

Early life

Martin was born on June 5, 2000, and grew up in Granite City and Edwardsville, Illinois. She is the youngest of three children born to teachers Matt and Jill Martin. Martin started playing basketball at age five, participating in local recreational leagues and playing pickup at the YMCA. Starting in elementary school, she frequented basketball camps at University of Iowa every summer and slept with an Iowa women's basketball poster above her childhood bed. Martin also played boys' tackle football in elementary school and later took up volleyball. Her dad was one of her first coaches, coaching her and her siblings' basketball teams up until the seventh grade, as well as Martin's football team. In middle school, Martin began attending "Junior Hawk" and Iowa basketball camps every summer as a participant. In fourth grade, Martin joined her local AAU basketball program and went on to play for the Blue Star St. Louis throughout high school. In seventh grade, Martin led her basketball team to the 2012 Illinois Elementary School Association Class 4A state championship game, losing by three points in the final. That same year, she helped her middle school volleyball team win the 2013 seventh-grade IESA Class 4A state championship in straight sets. The following year, Martin's basketball team claimed victory at the 2013 eighth grade IESA Class 4A state championship, finishing with an undefeated 28–0 season, while her volleyball team placed third at the 2014 eighth grade state championship.

High school

Martin played four years of varsity basketball for Edwardsville High School in Edwardsville, Illinois, under head coach Lori Blade. During her freshman season, Edwardsville went 30–1, winning the Southwestern Conference, regional, and sectional titles before falling to the eventual state champions, Benet Academy, in the Class 4A state quarterfinals. As a freshman, Martin did not see many minutes on the court, coming off the bench and averaging 6.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Her game continued to mature, and she made herself into a guaranteed starter for her remaining three years at Edwardsville. During her sophomore year in postseason play, Martin helped Edwardsville defeat Rock Island High School in the sectional championship by holding their freshman guard, Brea Beal, pointless in the first quarter. Despite Martin's 13-point contribution in the game, her team suffered a second straight state quarterfinal loss to Benet Academy, the eventual back-to-back 2016 state champions. Martin earned Class 4A All-State fourth-team accolades from the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association.
As a junior, Martin surpassed 1,000 career points and averaged 12.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.7 steals per game. The number-one-ranked Edwardsville team finished their 2016–17 season with a 32–1 record, reaching the Class 4A state championship final where they were upset by Geneva Community High School, losing 41–40 on a last-second shot. Martin was named to the IBCA All-State Class 4A second-team and was selected as an Associated Press All-State honorable mention at the conclusion of her junior season. As a senior, Martin averaged 16.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.1 steals per game with 63.9 field-goal, 50.9 three-point, and 80 free-throw percentages. As team captain, Martin led the number-one-ranked Edwardsville team to their fourth consecutive SWC, regional, and sectional titles, and their second consecutive super-sectional championship title. Her team finished the 2017–18 season with a 30–2 record and reached their second consecutive Class 4A semifinal, ultimately finishing fourth in postseason tournament play. At the end of her senior year, Martin's class finished with an overall record of 122–6, going undefeated at home all four years. Martin led her team with the most points, rebounds, and assists during her senior season and ended her high school basketball career with the fourth-most points in Edwardsville High School history. She received the 5th most votes for Illinois Miss Basketball 2018 award and was named to both the Associated Press and the IBCA Class 4A All-State first-teams as a senior.
Martin also played four years of varsity volleyball as an outside hitter at Edwardsville. She helped lead her team to 108 wins, two SWC titles, two regional championships, and a sectional championship. She finished her high school volleyball career with a new school record for career block assists and was also named to the All-SWC first-team her senior year.

Recruiting

Martin was first recruited by NCAA Division I basketball programs during her sophomore year of high school, receiving an offer from Bradley. During her high school career, she continued to receive offers from Division I programs including DePaul, Illinois, St. Louis, and Wisconsin, among others. During her junior year, she was recruited by Iowa as a 2–3. On her car ride home from her official weekend visit at Iowa, Martin called the coaching staff and verbally committed to the Hawkeyes. She announced this verbal commitment on Twitter in May 2017. Martin formally signed her letter of intent in November 2017 and received a full athletic scholarship from the university. By the end of her high school career, Martin was considered a three-star recruit with a scouting grade of 90 by ESPN. In interviews, Martin stated playing for Iowa was "always the goal" and that committing to play there was "a no-brainer". In sixth grade for an English assignment, she wrote a letter for her future self to be opened after graduating high school in which she wrote, "Hi Kate. When you're reading this, I hope you have committed to play basketball at the University of Iowa."

College career

Redshirt year (2018–19)

In June 2018, it was announced that Martin had torn her left anterior cruciate ligament and lateral meniscus in a collision during practice for the IBCA high school all-star game and would miss the entire 2018–19 season. She received an additional year of eligibility after redshirting. Iowa finished their season with a 29–7 record, won the 2019 Big Ten tournament title, and advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament.

Freshman season (2019–20)

On November 7, 2019, Martin made her collegiate debut in a 85–53 win over Florida Atlantic. From the bench, she played in 24 games. The Hawkeyes ended the year with a 23–7 record, an undefeated record on home court, and a third-place finish in the regular season in the Big Ten Conference. On March 12, 2020, the NCAA canceled the 2020 women's basketball tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic, effectively ending the 2019–20 season.

Sophomore season (2020–21)

With the graduation of three of Iowa's 2019–20 starters, Martin moved into Iowa's starting line-up and started all 30 games alongside incoming freshman Caitlin Clark. She was also named team captain for the 2020–21 season. During the January 3 game against Illinois, Martin broke her nose after being hit in the face by a basketball and wore a protective transparent plastic mask for six weeks. She broke her nose again in early February after a practice squad player "threw a beautiful bullet pass right to face", extending her mask use a few additional weeks. In her first game back without her mask, Martin posted her first career double-double for Iowa with a career-best 19 points with 11 assists and five rebounds in a decisive 96–78 win over Penn State on February 18. At the end of the regular season, Martin averaged 30.7 minutes, 7.0 points, and 4.3 rebounds per game with a season total of 110 assists and 34 steals. Martin helped Iowa reach the Big Ten tournament championship game where they ultimately fell to Maryland in an 104–84 loss. In the first round of the 2021 NCAA tournament, Martin got off to a quick start, registering 8 points in the first six minutes in Iowa's 87–72 win over Central Michigan. Iowa went on to face number-one-seeded UConn in the Sweet Sixteen, losing to the Huskies 92–72. Martin was named to the Academic All-Big Ten team and also was selected as Iowa's women's basketball honoree for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award and won the Iowa's 2021 Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award, alongside Mekhi Sargent.

Junior season (2021–22)

Entering her junior season, Martin again was named team captain and started all 32 games for Iowa alongside Clark, averaging 30 minutes per game. After helping Iowa earn the Big Ten regular season championship title, Martin put on a commanding performance in the 2022 Big Ten tournament, averaging 12.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game in the tournament. On March 4, 2022, in the quarterfinal match-up, she recorded 15 points, six assists, and five rebounds in Iowa's 71–59 win over Northwestern. Martin grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds with eight points and five assists in the semifinal win over Nebraska on March 5. Iowa claimed the Big Ten tournament title by defeating Indiana 74–67. With this title win, Iowa automatically qualified for the 2022 NCAA tournament and was named the number two seed for the Greensboro Region. Her team was upset by 10th-seed Creighton in the second round of the NCAA tournament in a 64–62 loss. As a redshirt junior, she averaged 7.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game. At the end of the academic year, she was selected as Iowa's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree for women's basketball for the second consecutive year, earned Academic All-Big Ten honors, was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, and was named to the Dean's List.