Kate Martin survives second round of Las Vegas Aces roster cuts
The WNBA season officially tips off in eight days, but for former Hawkeye Kate Martin, May 13th is the date that is most important to her right now. That’s the day that all teams must finalize their rosters and Martin is still fighting to be one of the 12 players selected to the Las Vegas Aces opening-day roster.
“It’s hard not to get starstruck every day when I walk into the facility, but it’s been really great,” said Martin during the Aces media day. “They’re so strong and they know exactly what they’re doing. They’re so smart with their game, their IQ is through the roof…I’m trying to soak up everything that I can from them because I want to be like that too.”
WNBA teams are allowed to open training camp with as many as 18 players during training camp, but the league has a cap at 144 players or 12 players per team that must be met by May 13th. When Martin was drafted 18th overall by the Aces in the second round of the WNBA Draft back on April 15th, there was plenty of excitement, but a recognition that making the final roster for the defending league champions was a tall task.
Since then, her odds have sky-rocketed. On April 28th, 15-year vet Candace Parker announced her retirement after just one season with the Aces. Then, on May 2nd, the Aces announced that they had waived guard Morgan Jones and forward Brea Beal. On Monday morning, the team announced that they had waived 31 year old guard Bria Hartley after signing her to the training camp roster back in February. With a week until the roster must be finalized, Kate Martin just has to survive one more cut to officially become a member of the Las Vegas Aces.
Here is a look at four players who are fighting for the final three spots on the roster…
G Kate Martin – Drafted 18th Overall (13.1 ppg, 6.8 reb, 2.3 ast at Iowa ’24)
G Dyaisha Fair – Drafted 15th Overall (22.3 ppg, 4.6 reb, 3.6 ast at Syracuse ’24)
C Angel Jackson – Drafted 36th Overall (10.0 ppg, 6.8 reb at Jackson State ’24)
G Kamaria McDaniel – 2023 Undrafted (Averaged 28.1 ppg for Yalova VIP in Turkey ’24)
If Kate Martin is able to make the opening day roster for the Aces, it would be an impressive accomplishment. Over the last three seasons, just 38 of the 108 (35.2%) players selected in the WNBA Draft have made the opening day roster. Just 11 of the 36 (30.6%) players selected in the second round of the draft have made the opening day roster.
If the Aces are looking for a role-player and a good leader to their roster, Kate Martin is an easy choice. The majority of her career at Iowa was spent being a role-player, doing whatever she needed to do to help the team win. In her final season, Kate showed the ability to be more than that and scored in double figures in 30 of 39 games. As for her leadership, Caitlin Clark and Coach Lisa Bluder call her one of the best leaders they’ve ever been around.
“I’m just here being myself. I don’t need to be anybody else. I don’t need to be the star player, you see the talent that the Aces have, that my role would just be a role-player,” said Martin. “If I fortunately would make the final roster, I’ve been in that position before, I know how to be a role-player. I know how to support stars. I’ve done that for quite a few years, so my intention is to come in and give 100% effort every single day, never take a rep off and just work really hard to be a good teammate.”
Also on the Las Vegas Aces is former Hawkeye Megan Gustafson. Her and Kate Martin were teammates on the 2018-19 Iowa team that advanced to the Elite Eight. Gustafson signed a two-year deal with the team back in January and recently won a EuroCup Championship with the London Lions.
“Megan’s been through pretty much everything during her six years in the league, so it’s been really nice to be able to talk to her and bounce ideas off of her. If I’m every struggling, I’ll be able to talk to her about it because she’s been through it.”
