Report: Valkyries to select Kate Martin in expansion draft

Field Level Media|published: Fri 6th December, 19:12 2024

Former Iowa Hawkeyes Las Vegas Aces guard Kate Martin (20) and Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reunite Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, during a game between the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The Golden State Valkyries are set to select Kate Martin in Friday's WNBA expansion draft, according to a report from The Athletic.

Martin averaged 2.6 points and 1.6 rebounds across 34 games (two starts) last season as a rookie for the Las Vegas Aces. The 18th overall pick of last year's draft played just 11 1/2 minutes per game and appeared in only one of the Aces' six postseason contests.

If Golden State does pick Martin, it would mean that Las Vegas excluded the guard from its list of six players that were protected from the draft pool. Each of the 12 WNBA teams had until Nov. 25 to submit their list of six protected players to the league.

The public will not be informed which players went undrafted after their current team left them unprotected. Those players will return to their team if Golden State does not choose them.

The Valkyries are also reportedly planning to draft veteran New York Liberty forward Kayla Thornton.

Mostly used off the bench last season, Thornton averaged 5.5 points in the regular season and contributed 2.0 points during the playoffs to help the Liberty win their first WNBA title.

In nine WNBA seasons, the 32-year-old has averaged 7.0 points and 4.2 rebounds across 274 career games (143 starts) for Washington (2015), Dallas (2017-22) and New York (2023-present).

--Field Level Media

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