{"id":842437,"date":"2026-09-10T02:36:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T02:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/842437\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T02:36:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T02:36:29","slug":"skys-kate-martin-is-still-figuring-out-who-she-is-as-a-player","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/842437\/","title":{"rendered":"Sky\u2019s Kate Martin is still figuring out who she is as a player"},"content":{"rendered":"

What stands out about the Sky\u2019s<\/a> newest player, Kate Martin, beyond her freckles and Illinois roots, is her positive attitude.<\/p>\n

That may sound like something used to describe a player without any real basketball chops, but Martin does have chops.<\/p>\n

Drafted No. 18 by the Aces in 2024, she surprised many who thought she was just a college sidekick to megastar Caitlin Clark. She shot 35.5% from three-point range as a rookie on a top-notch Aces squad, then played a meaningful bench role for the expansion Valkyries.<\/p>\n

Still, that positive attitude \u2014 her ability to reframe difficulty as opportunity \u2014 has served Martin well in the early part of her career. After a promising first two seasons, she was cut by the Valkyries at the beginning of this one.<\/p>\n

Then the Sparks took a flier on her, first on a development contract and later on a standard one, but she never really cracked the rotation.<\/p>\n

She was waived at the end of August and is now on her fourth team in three years.<\/p>\n

Cue Martin\u2019s gift for finding the silver lining.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can look at it one of two ways,\u201d Martin, 26, said of her trajectory so far. \u201cI crave stability. I would love to find my home and my niche. But also, I\u2019ve learned so many great things from so many people. I\u2019ve made so many friendships. I\u2019ve learned different systems. I\u2019ve learned how coaches operate. I learned what\u2019s good in practice, what might not work in practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what appealed to Martin about the Sky, who are 15-25 and offered her a development contract for the final morsel of the season?<\/p>\n

\u201cBeggars can\u2019t be choosers,\u201d she said with a smile. \u201cI\u2019m very grateful that I even got a call. I honestly thought my season was probably going to be over with only four games being left. … My goal is to make an impact and make the most of the next couple weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin\u2019s honesty and authenticity have helped her form strong relationships everywhere she has played. So it was no surprise when she named half the Sky\u2019s roster as already-made friends from Unrivaled, or when she mentioned her desire to coach someday.<\/p>\n

But as a player, at this moment, she feels like she is still figuring out who she is.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach team I\u2019ve played, you play different roles,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m gonna figure out what my role is here and then just be myself. Just like always, give it my all, do my best, make the right reads, play hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Chicago, she\u2019ll have a longtime believer on her side: Tyler Marsh, who was an Aces assistant during Martin\u2019s rookie season. He texted her when the Valkyries released her, telling her, \u201cIf I ever have the opportunity to get you, I\u2019m gonna take advantage of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Martin, he sees the kind of versatility that has been typical of the Sky\u2019s roster this year. He thinks she has been pigeonholed as a three-point shooter at the pro level, but sees potential in her as a driver and finisher.<\/p>\n

He also thinks she has gotten quicker, which will help her on the perimeter and defensively.<\/p>\n

As he often does with young players, Marsh emphasized the need for patience and grace with Martin.<\/p>\n

But her toughness and selflessness are the traits he most wants the team to embody.<\/p>\n

\u201cTy isn\u2019t just about basketball and on-court skills,\u201d Martin said. \u201cHe\u2019s a people person. I think I can bring a lot of value to a team other than just basketball. Ty sees that. I think we align in the culture pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin still needs to, as she put it, find her niche on the court. But her attitude is part of why she keeps earning chances to do so.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What stands out about the Sky\u2019s newest player, Kate Martin, beyond her freckles and Illinois roots, is her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":842438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":["post-842437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=842437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/842438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=842437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=842437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=842437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}