Kate Martin is Ready to 'Run Through a Brick Wall' for Valkyries Coach Natalie Nakase
The Golden State Valkyries WNBA Expansion Draft has now come and gone, with the Valkyries having selected 11 players (one from every team aside from the Seattle Storm) to be part of their inaugural roster for the 2025 season.
There were a few noteworthy names that the Valkyries selected. However, nobody has more star power than former Iowa Hawkeyes and Las Vegas Aces standout Kate Martin, who is one of the WNBA's most beloved players despite playing just one season of professional basketball.
Martin was featured on the ESPN broadcast soon after it was revealed that the Valkyries selected her. When asked how she feels about this major change, she said, "I'm really excited. This league is all about opportunity, and you just need one shot, right? And I'm very thankful for the Aces and everything I got to learn there, but I'm really excited for this new beginning and to build something from the ground up here with the Valkyries."
Analyst Rebecca Lobo then noted how Martin played for Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase (who was previously an assistant coach for the Aces) last season and asked Martin what the Valkyries roster can expect when playing for Nakase.
"I mean, Coach Nakase is somebody you're going to want to run through a brick wall for," Martin replied. "She's a truth teller, she's gonna be honest with you. But she matches that with love and support 100%. So those are the kind of coaches that you just want to give your all for, and I'm super grateful we got to build a relationship in Las Vegas and we get to continue that in San Francisco."
"I'm very thankful for the Aces and everything I got to learn there, but I'm really excited for this new beginning and to build something from the ground up."
— espnW (@espnW) December 7, 2024
—Kate Martin on being selected by the Valkyries from the Aces 💜 pic.twitter.com/r7i3Z73llt
While the Valkyries still have plenty of opportunities to add talent to their roster via free agency this offseason, Martin is currently the face of the Golden State Valkyries' WNBA franchise.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.