Kate Martin attends WNBA draft to support Caitlin Clark, gets drafted by Las Vegas in second round

Kate Martin traveled to the WNBA draft to support her Iowa teammate Caitlin Clark and ended up getting drafted by the Las Vegas Aces.

Martin was selected 18th overall by the defending champions.

“There are a lot of emotions right now,” Martin said in an interview on ESPN. “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 was among the 1,000 fans who were inside the Brooklyn Academy of Music, seated next to her former Iowa teammates Gabbie Marshall and Jada Gyamfi. As she heard her name called, she hugged Hawkeyes assistant coach Jan Jensen.

“I’m super excited for the opportunity. I have a really good work ethic,” Martin said.

She helped Iowa reach the NCAA title game for the second straight season and finished her career with 1,299 points, 756 rebounds and 473 assists.

Along with Clark, who was drafted first by Indiana, Iowa had two players selected in the draft for the first time since 1998.

The league will open training camp on April 28 and the season starts May 14.

The Aces didn’t have any picks in the first round, but made the most of three second-round choices. Las Vegas also chose Syracuse guard Dyaisha Fair, who finished as the third-leading scorer in NCAA Division I history, with the 16th pick.

The team closed out the round by drafting Virginia Tech’s Elizabeth Kitley, who is recovering from a torn ACL. She’s out for the season and showed up on crutches.

Iowa’s Kate Martin Went to WNBA Draft to Support Caitlin Clark — and Then Got Drafted Herself: ‘A Lot of Emotions Right Now’

Clark said she “couldn’t be happier” for her close friend and former Iowa teammate

From Left: Kate Martin and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert
Former Iowa women’s basketball player Kate Martin traveled to Brooklyn, New York on Monday night so that she could be there to support her former teammate, Caitlin Clark, as she was selected No. 1 overall in the WNBA Draft.

But 17 picks later, it was Martin who unexpectedly heard her name called and experienced her childhood dream come true.

“There are a lot of emotions right now,” Martin, 23, said after getting drafted No. 18 overall by the Las Vegas Aces, according to The Associated Press. “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.”

From Left: Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin at the 2024 WNBA Draft
Clark, 22, congratulated Martin on social media afterwards. “KATE. MARTIN. LFGGGGG,” Clark wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) alongside a sunglasses emoji and a pair of white hearts.

On her Instagram Stories, Clark shared a selfie of the her and Martin together. “Couldn’t be happier for you,” Clark wrote alongside another heart emoji.

Leading up to the draft, the two friends had quite the weekend with the NCAA Division I’s all-time leading scorer bringing Martin and their teammate, Gabbie Marshall. on stage with her during the closing credits of Saturday Night Live. Clark had appeared on the episode’s “Weekend Update” segment earlier with Michael Che in the night.

At Iowa, Clark and Martin helped bring the Iowa women’s basketball team its most successful seasons in school history. The team made it to the Final Four and the national championship game in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024, racking up 65 wins over the last two years.

While Clark was breaking records and nabbing headlines, Martin backed her up with 13.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

The 6-foot guard dreamt about playing basketball for Iowa since she was a kid, her mother, Jill Martin, once told The Quad-City Times. “She’s had a ball in her hands since she could play,” she said.

And now she’ll continue her career as a professional in the WNBA.

Martin was emotional when the Aces — the defending WNBA Champions — called her name during Monday night’s draft. She immediately turned to hug Marshall and then her former Hawkeyes assistant coach, Jan Jensen.

“I’m super excited for the opportunity,” Martin said, per the AP. “I have a really good work ethic.”