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Kate Martin signs with LA Sparks following Dawn Staley comments

IMG_6598by: Nick Kosko05/10/26nickkosko59

WNBA guard Kate Martin was in the news following her release from the Golden State Valkyries, mostly due to Dawn Staley chiming in on the transaction. Martin signed with the LA Sparks Sunday as part of their Player Development Pool, per a release from the franchise.

“Kate is a gifted shooter, whose grittiness and winning history mesh well with Sparks basketball,” Sparks General Manager Raegan Pebley said. “She’s confident in her shot, plays tenacious defense and is an unselfish, high-energy teammate. We’re eager to watch Kate develop within our system.” 

The former Iowa guard was waived by Golden State and was the final cut, per Matt Lively of CBS Sports Bay Area. That’s when Staley made headlines by commenting on the reporting of the transaction, claiming Lively did so with bias when it came to Martin’s release in relation to Golden State keeping Laeticia Amihere, a former player of Staley’s at South Carolina.

“Kate Martin is the final cut from the Valkyries,” Lively wrote. “They opt to keep Kaitlyn Chen and Laeticia Amihere over Martin. The move makes sense in terms of need but Martin is an incredibly popular player with a fan base that shows up in every city.”

That’s where Staley jumped in. Safe to say, her reaction didn’t really bring forth the same energy she thought it would bring.

“Not cool to actually use other players names specifically Laeticia Amihere for your personal preface,” Staley wrote in response. “I hope if you cover the Valkyries you can unbiasedly do so moving forward.”

Clearly the head coach thought Lively was being critical of Amihere being kept on the Golden State roster over Martin. As Lively pointed out, Martin’s been a popular player in women’s basketball since her days at Iowa and of course, playing alongside Caitlin Clark in college.

Martin was originally a second-round draft pick out of Iowa in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Las Vegas Aces. She played one season for the team before being picked up by Golden State. Now, she’s on the third team of her career looking to make an impact in Los Angeles. Meanwhile Staley’s former forward Amihere is in her second season with Golden State and previously played for the Atlanta Dream.