Edwardsville’s Kate Martin making WNBA postseason debut with Las Vegas Aces.
It’s been a whirlwind six months for the 2018 Edwardsville High School graduate Kate Martin.
Six months ago, Martin was helping the Iowa Hawkeyes and Caitlin Clark maneuver through the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament that ultimately culminated with a second-place finish on April 7 in Cleveland, Ohio.
A week later, two days after appearing on stage at Saturday Night Live, Martin was unexpectedly drafted in the second round by the Las Vegas Aces with the 18th overall draft.
A month later, Martin, 6-foot guard, became just one of four second-round picks in 2024 to make a WNBA roster when she earned one of the roster spots with the Aces. WNBA teams can have up to 12 players on a roster.
Now, Martin is dressing for the WNBA postseason as Las Vegas opened its back-to-back championship defense against the Seattle Storm on Sept. 22 in Las Vegas.
She did not appear in the 77-68 win.
“It’s crazy,” Martin said. “Playing at Iowa feels so long ago but it also feels like just yesterday. It’s definitely crazy, but my sights are set on the postseason and winning.”
Game 2 in the best-of-three first-round series is scheduled for Sept. 24 at 8:30 p.m. in Las Vegas. If needed, Game 3 is on Sept. 26 in Seattle.
The top eight teams in the 12-team WNBA qualified for the postseason with seeds based on the regular-season records.
Las Vegas, the two-time defending WNBA champions, earned the No. 4 seed after going 27-13 in the 40-game regular season.
The New York Liberty (32-8), Minnesota Lynx (30-10) and Connecticut Sun (28-12) are the top three seeds. Clark’s Indiana Fever are the No. 6 seed after going 20-20.
After a best-of-five series in the first round, the semifinals and championship are best-of seven.
For Martin, it will be her first taste of the WNBA postseason and her first time playing in a postseason series since her AAU days since high school and college both use the tournament format.
“It’s really exciting. It’s uncharted territory for me but not at the same time. I’ve never not been playing in a postseason before, but I’ve never been in a WNBA postseason before,” Martin said. “I’m really excited to play a series and not have it one-and-done like college. I’m excited to go to battle with my teammates.”
While Martin will be getting her first professional postseason experience, Las Vegas will be entering with a target after winning the last two championships. The Aces are looking to join the Houston Comets as the other organization to win three straight WNBA championships. The Comets actually won four straight championships in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000.
