Yardbarker
Yardbarker
x
Valkyries Reveal Kate Martin News Before New Season
© Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Friday night marks a historic moment at the Chase Center in San Francisco, but it has nothing to do with Steph Curry or the Golden State Warriors. Instead, the spotlight is on the Golden State Valkyries as they gear up for their inaugural regular season game.

Golden State will host the Los Angeles Sparks in one of three matchups tipping off the 2025 WNBA season.

While both teams are preparing for the opening night, not every player is cleared for action. One name fans in San Francisco will be watching closely is Kate Martin, the former University of Iowa standout.

Sara Jane Gamelli, who covers the WNBA for ballislife.com, posted the Valkyries’ injury report Thursday evening. It listed Martin as probable for the opener.

Martin played in Golden State’s May 6 preseason game against Los Angeles, logging 18 minutes and scoring 8 points. She missed the second preseason contest due to a right hand injury and was spotted wearing a wrap around her shooting hand’s pinky finger.

Commonly known as Caitlin Clark’s longtime teammate at Iowa, Martin spent five seasons with the Hawkeyes. She started 139 of 163 games and averaged 8 points per game over her career. Her final season was her best, starting all 39 games and averaging 13.1 points. Martin helped lead Iowa to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament championship game.

After her college career, she was selected 18th overall in the WNBA Draft by the Las Vegas Aces. As a rookie, she made two starts and averaged 11.5 minutes and 2.6 points per game.

Martin is projected to start for Golden State, joining a lineup that also includes Juste Jocyte, Kayla Thornton, Cecilia Zandalasini and Temi Fagbenle.

Leading the Valkyries in their first season is head coach Natalie Nakase, who spent the last two seasons as an assistant with the Las Vegas Aces.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads:

TODAY'S BEST

Chicago Sky Reveal Cautious Angel Reese Plan After Back Injury
WNBA

Chicago Sky Reveal Cautious Angel Reese Plan After Back Injury

Angel Reese was forced to sit out the Chicago Sky’s last two games due to a back injury. It’s no coincidence that the Sky suffered defeat in both games, which saw their current losing streak increase to five consecutive contests. Angel Reese Returns to Action Against Mystics The Sky are back in action on Tuesday night, and the good news is that Reese is finally going to make her much-awaited comeback. Head coach Tyler Marsh revealed before tip-off that the two-time All-Star has been cleared to play as the Sky take on the 12-13 Washington Mystics in a road game at CareFirst Arena. Sky Taking No Chances With Reese Marsh, however, also told reporters before the game that the Sky intend to take a cautious approach in terms of bringing their star forward back into the mix. According to Marsh, they will be smart with Reese and her minutes against Washington, per Chicago State of Mind Sports on X. Based on this statement here from the Sky shot-caller, it appears that Reese will be on some sort of minutes limit in her first game back from injury. On the season, the 23-year-old is averaging 31.6 minutes per contest, and it’s very much possible that she plays less than this on Tuesday night as she works her way back from a two-game absence. Either way, this is a crucial development for the Sky, who have been eager to get arguably their best player back on the roster. Chicago enters Tuesday’s contest with a 7-18 record and 12th in the WNBA, and it will undoubtedly be looking to stack up the wins again with Reese back in the mix.

Packers starter calls hits back at Matt LaFleur, calls for 'bus fine'
NFL

Packers starter calls hits back at Matt LaFleur, calls for 'bus fine'

Matt LaFleur is earning the ire of several of his Green Bay Packers players early in training camp. On Tuesday, LaFleur punished offensive tackle Rasheed Walker for his altercation with defensive end Kingsley Enagbare. However, the most interesting interaction of the day came between LaFleur and tight end Tucker Kraft. Per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, LaFleur called out Kraft for two questionable fumbles during the first week of practice. Both "fumbles" came after the play was over or when the ball fell out of bounds. "Certainly, we all know what kind of player Tucker Kraft is and can be," LaFleur said. "He can’t allow Evan Williams to reach around and punch a ball out, so it is challenging everybody and hopefully that makes us that much better.” The third-year tight end took issue with LaFleur calling him out in front of the media and blamed the coaching staff for implementing practice rules that made it easy for offensive players to fumble. "I’d say a lot of the times — there’s certain rules you play with in practice, like just letting the defense punch repeatedly," Kraft said. "You’re not allowed to stiff-arm. I guess all I have are excuses. Yes, I am working on not fumbling the ball in practice." Schneidman said Kraft answered the question with a tone of sarcasm. Kraft was frustrated that he couldn't defend the ball by stiff-arming a defender trying to poke the ball from his undefended arm. Kraft acknowledged that during practice, he has to "play by the rules" LaFleur makes and is trying to work on having a "yes sir, no sir" attitude with his head coach. He then made a vague reference about a "bus fine" and accused LaFleur of throwing him under the bus in front of the media. Schneidman believes the tight end might actually be calling for Green Bay to fine LaFleur after his discouraging quote Tuesday morning. "So yes, the Packers’ third-year tight end might be calling for his head coach to be fined — not by the league, of course, but by the team — for what he perceived as throwing him under the bus," Schneidman wrote. "Is Kraft being serious about fining LaFleur? "Probably not. Is he peeved LaFleur called him out? It sure seems like it." LaFleur might do better to have a conversation with Kraft before dragging his name into news conferences with reporters. It's clear Tucker doesn't see eye-to-eye with LaFleur about fumbles. This is a good reminder to those getting overly excited or nervous reading practice reports that what happens at practice should be taken with a grain of salt. Most likely, Tucker is going to be fine.

Raiders' Pete Carroll has cryptic comments on bizarre Christian Wilkins situation
NFL

Raiders' Pete Carroll has cryptic comments on bizarre Christian Wilkins situation

There have been a couple of different theories floated about why the Las Vegas Raiders made the shocking decision to cut star defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, but head coach Pete Carroll has no interest in sharing the real motive. The Raiders released Wilkins on Thursday, which was barely a year after they signed him to a four-year, $110M contract in free agency. Initial reports suggested Wilkins and the team were at odds over how the 29-year-old's foot injury was being handled, but the story has since taken a bizarre turn. ESPN's Adam Schefter said on Monday that there was an incident between Wilkins and a teammate in the locker room that Wilkins viewed as playful, but his teammate did not take it that way. Tashan Reed of The Athletic reported that the incident took place in a meeting room at the Raiders' facility last week and was investigated by the team's human resources department. On Tuesday, a reporter asked Carroll about the alleged incident. The 73-year-old coach refused to get into it. "I have no comment to make,” Carroll said, via The Athletic. “We made a decision on what we’re doing, and we’re moving with it. We’ll see how that all unveils itself in time.” The last part of Carroll's comment is interesting. Carroll may have been saying time will tell how the decision to cut Wilkins will turn out for the Raiders, or he may have been insinuating that more information will come out at some point. Raiders defensive tackle Adam Nelson was also asked about Wilkins on Tuesday. Nelson responded by encouraging people to seek therapy if they are struggling with something in their life. Wilkins had 17 total tackles and a pair of sacks in five games with the Raiders before he suffered his season-ending foot injury.

Red Sox Targeting All-Star Starter At 'Annoying Level'
MLB

Red Sox Targeting All-Star Starter At 'Annoying Level'

It certainly seems like the Boston Red Sox are putting their best foot forward to acquire one of the top starting pitchers potentially on the trade block. The Red Sox kicked off a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins on Monday. It wasn't a great night for Boston full of wild weather, a last-second rain delay, and another walk-off loss. The timing of the series certainly is interesting. The series will end on Wednesday and then Boston will have a day off on Thursday which also is the day of the 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline. Boston is getting some face time with the Twins right now and it sounds like the Red Sox are targeting one of the club's All-Stars. The Athletic's Jim Bowen reported a handful of teams are calling Minnesota at an "annoying level" for ace Joe Ryan. "The Red Sox, (New York Yankees), (Toronto Blue Jays), (Philadelphia Phillies), and (Seattle Mariners) are speed dialing the Twins at an annoying level with continued interest in Joe Ryan, basically their whole bullpen, Willi Castro and Harrison Bader," Bowden said. "Twins could end up being the headliner at the deadline as talks heat up according to sources." Ryan has a 2.82 ERA this season across 121 1/3 innings pitched. On top of this, Ryan still has two more seasons of arbitration-eligibility. He's the type of pitcher who could help Boston now and into the future. That's why he's a perfect fit, but he also would cost an arm and a leg, especially with all of the suitors for him.

Customize Your Newsletter

Yardbarker +

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!