WNBA Rookies Kate Martin, Dyaisha Fair Make Las Vegas Aces Roster

Kate Martin and Dyaisha Fair have officially made a WNBA roster. Both selected in the second round, Martin and Fair were listed on the regular season roster for the Las Vegas Aces.

Former Syracuse Orange guard Dyaisha Fair / David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports

WNBA rookies Kate Martin and Dyaisha Fair made a pretty strong impression on Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon and her staff. The two 2024 WNBA Draft picks have made the roster for the upcoming regular season.

Both Martin and Fair were listed on the team's 2024 roster ahead of the regular season opener on Tuesday. It's a major accomplishment for both former college stars, as the number of vacancies in the WNBA is extremely limited.

Las Vegas selected Fair with the No. 16 overall pick in the second round. Martin was then selected at No. 18 overall, also in the second round. Fair played at Buffalo and Syracuse, finishing her career as the third all-time leading scorer in NCAA women's basketball history. Martin was a key contributor to Iowa's back-to-back Final Four runs the past two seasons.

Martin and Fair made their preseason debut in Las Vegas' lone exhibition against the Puerto Rico national team. Both played 10 minutes, scoring five points and dishing out two assists each.

Aces coach Becky Hammon says she's been very impressed with both players throughout practice and in the lone preseason contest.

"Well, you have to understand these rookies, every time they're competing you have to allow them some grace to grow and allow them to have some grace with each other," Hammon said. "At the end of the day, they're trying to guard the greatest guards in the world with Kelsey (Plum) and Jakie (Young).

"I tell them all the time, you guard them, you can guard anybody in the world. So, it was actually nice to see them go against somebody other than our players because you can see really how much upside there is to both of them. Both of them are there for specific reasons. ... Dyaisha is completely different from Kate. But what we saw in each of them and the skillset they possess, we value both of those."

Martin and Fair are joining the WNBA's hottest franchise. Las Vegas has won back-to-back league championships and is anchored by superstar A'ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young.

The Aces will open up the regular season on Tuesday, hosting the Phoenix Mercury. Tipoff is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET and the game airs on ESPN 2.