Kate Martin Gets Cut Days Before Start Of 2026 WNBA Season
After joining the Golden State Valkyries in the 2024 WNBA expansion draft, former Iowa star Kate Martin had a decent season for the team off the bench. But it appears she'll need to find a new team quickly if she hopes to play on opening night.
On Thursday, the Valkyries announced that they have waived Martin ahead of tomorrow's season opener against the Seattle Storm.
"Roster Update: The Golden State Valkyries have waived guard Kate Martin," the team announced on Thursday morning.
Performance vs. Marketing
Despite being mostly a bench player for the Valkyries in 2025, Martin was pretty heavily marketed as a player on the team for the entirety of her time with the team. As much as fans like her, many recognize that she's not an essential piece to the team's performance on the court.
"I'm actually floored. Thought they would milk the marketing a little longer," one user wrote on X.
"So I get it's a basketball team but was she not one of the faces of their team? Like they almost have to keep her for marketing I fear," wrote another.
"Kate Martin is the final cut from the Valkyries. They opt to keep Kaitlyn Chen and Laeticia Amihere over Martin. The move makes sense in terms of need but Martin is an incredibly popular player with a fan base that shows up in every city," a third noted.
"Well, while I definitely wrote that this was a possibility, I am still very surprised by this move. With Iliana Rupert's pregnancy (huge congrats) Laeticia Amihere became far more important to the Valkyries' depth. It's also possible Martin's injury also player a factor."
Martin rose to prominence as a teammate and friend of Caitlin Clark when they were teammates at Iowa and came out into the WNBA together in 2024. Clark went to the Fever as the highly-touted No. 1 overall draft pick while Martin was picked 18th overall by the Las Vegas Aces.
As a rookie, Martin averaged 2.6 points and 1.6 rebounds per game in 34 appearances, earning two starts.
After moving to Golden State the following year, she saw more time on the court, but only two extra starts over 42 games played. Martin finished her second year averaging 4.6 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.
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This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 10:11 AM.