Kate Martin was feeling “a lot of emotions” Monday at the 2024 WNBA Draft in Brooklyn, where she supported her friend and former Hawkeyes teammate, Caitlin Clark, then heard her own name called.
The former Iowa guard was selected in the second round, 18th overall, by the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces not long after Clark, 22, was taken with the top pick by the Indiana Fever.
“There are a lot of emotions right now,” Martin said in an ESPN interview. “I’m really happy to be here. I was here to support Caitlin, but I was hoping to hear my name called. All I wanted was an opportunity and I got it. I’m really excited.”
Martin, who averaged 13.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in her senior season, was feeling the love inside the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where she sat with former Iowa teammates Gabbie Marshall and Jada Gyamfi as WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert read her name aloud.
“Had me in tears @katemartin03 so proud :),” Marshall posted in an Instagram Story.
Gyamfi also gushed over Martin’s moment, “Now this one is special.”
Martin capped off a prolific collegiate career with 1,299 points, 756 rebounds and 473 assists, along with two back-to-back national championship appearances.
She and the Hawkeyes fell to the LSU Tigers in the 2023 title game and lost to the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks in this month’s championship contest.
Clark has lauded Martin as “somebody that I admire and look up to.”
“I think everybody in our locker room, and every one of the coaches, would say she’s someone we learn from every single day, somebody that has our backs,” Clark said earlier this month.
“I’ll miss playing with her. She’s just somebody that’s really been there for me. She’s somebody that’s wired the same way as me. At times, that means me and Kate butt heads, but at the end of the day, we know how much we love each other. We just make each other better.”
Martin and Clark celebrated their big night with Marshall, Gyamfi and Clark’s boyfriend, Connor McCaffrey, at The Fleur Room in Manhattan.
The 2024 WNBA season begins on May 14.
