Golden State Valkyries pick cult-favorite rookie to anchor 2025 roster

The Golden State Valkyries finally have a few players on their roster after they completed their expansion draft Friday, and they may already have a fan favorite.

The player who got the loudest cheer of the Valkyries’ 11 selections was Kate Martin, the Las Vegas Aces guard and former Iowa teammate of Caitlin Clark. Even with just one WNBA season under her belt, Martin has quickly developed a huge fan base. She did a quick interview with ESPN at the end of the network’s 30-minute special show for the draft.

“I’m really excited,” Martin said. “You know, this league is all about opportunity, and you just need one shot, right? And I am very thankful for the Aces and everything I got to learn there, but I’m really excited for this new beginning and to build something from the ground up here with the Valkyries.”

Martin was a vital glue player for the Hawkeyes in their back-to-back trips to the college national title game in 2023 and 2024, even though Iowa lost both games. While Clark took up the majority of the spotlight, Martin added 13.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in her final college season, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors.

Martin didn’t expect to be drafted into the WNBA after college and was not invited by the league to attend the draft. She only went to the proceedings in New York City as a fan to support Clark, but in the most viral moment of the night and perhaps the entire 2024 WNBA season, the Aces took the guard in the middle of the second round, sending Martin up to the stage from the audience.

Martin then earned a role off the bench for the Aces, averaging 2.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per game while playing in 34 of 40 games. Martin will now play for Valkyrie head coach Natalie Nakase, who was an assistant in Las Vegas last season and coached Martin there. Martin is also somewhat of a nascent icon in the LGBTQ community, with posts of her girlfriend on her social media accounts regularly receiving praise.

Along with Martin, Golden State selected (former team in parentheses): guards Veronica Burton (Connecticut), Carla Leite (Dallas) and Julie Vanloo (Washington); forwards Monique Billings (Phoenix), Maria Conde (Chicago), Stephanie Talbot (Los Angeles) and Kayla Thornton (New York); and centers Temi Fagbenle (Indiana) and Iliana Rupert (Atlanta). The Valkyries did not take anyone from Seattle.

With the selections, the Valkyries have only three players who are under contract for 2025, per Her Hoop Stats reporter Richard Cohen, and will enter WNBA free agency next month with the most cap space of any team in the league. 

Golden State is slated to play its inaugural game on May 16 when it hosts the LA Sparks.

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