Written By Mauricio Segura // Image Created By: The Golden Bay Times Graphics Dept.
MAY 7, 2026
Kate Martin’s exit from the Golden State Valkyries landed with the subtlety of a cymbal crash inside Chase Center. On May 7, one day before Golden State opened its second WNBA season in Seattle, the Valkyries waived the 6-foot-2 guard while finalizing their 2026 roster. Technically, it was a basketball transaction. Emotionally, for a loud corner of the Valkyries fanbase, it felt closer to losing a friend.
Martin was not the flashiest name on Golden State’s roster, but that was never the point. Her appeal has always lived in the hard-hat parts of basketball: sturdy defense, rebounding from the guard spot, extra passes, fearless cuts, and a willingness to do the small things that rarely become highlight clips but often decide possessions. During the Valkyries’ inaugural 2025 season, she averaged 6.2 points and 2.7 rebounds while becoming one of the franchise’s most recognizable players. Her popularity followed her from Iowa, where she helped anchor back-to-back national runner-up teams beside Caitlin Clark, then continued through Las Vegas, where fans nicknamed her “Money Martin,” and finally arrived in the Bay Area with a built-in roar.
That made the timing especially jarring. Martin had appeared in Golden State’s lone preseason game on April 25 against Seattle, playing 23 minutes and grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. Three days later, the Valkyries announced she had suffered a Grade 2 right quad strain. By May 5, the team said she was progressing well and being evaluated day to day. Two days later, she was waived. That sequence is exactly why fans reacted with whiplash. One minute she looked like part of the season’s emotional furniture. The next, the furniture was on the curb.
The decision, however painful, was not made in a vacuum. Golden State’s roster puzzle changed shape quickly. The Valkyries added Gabby Williams, a major free-agent addition who strengthened an already crowded wing and guard rotation. They also needed a backup point guard behind Veronica Burton, a role Kaitlyn Chen earned her way into during camp. Then came another roster complication: center Iliana Rupert is pregnant, prompting Golden State to file for a replacement contract while leaving Kiah Stokes as the only true center on the active roster. In that squeeze, Martin became the heartbreaking cut.
That is the cold math of the WNBA, where roster spots are precious and sentiment does not survive the final deadline unless it can defend, shoot, pass, and fit the exact positional need of the moment. Martin can do plenty of those things, which is why her release should not be mistaken for a verdict on her ability. It says more about scarcity than failure. Golden State had too many overlapping pieces, too few spots, and a sudden frontcourt problem that likely forced the front office to choose roster balance over fan comfort.
Still, fans are allowed to be annoyed. Martin represented something important in the Valkyries’ young identity. Expansion teams need stars, but they also need glue players, cult heroes, and players who make fans feel like they discovered something before the rest of the league caught on. Martin was that kind of player. She had the Iowa résumé, the Aces seasoning, the blue-collar game, and the rare ability to make a routine rebound feel personal.
Now she enters waivers, where any WNBA team can claim her. If she clears, Golden State could still potentially revisit the relationship, especially with developmental roster flexibility in play. But whether she returns or lands elsewhere, Martin’s release is already one of the Valkyries’ first true fanbase stress tests. Winning organizations make uncomfortable decisions. Beloved organizations have to survive the reaction to them.
For Golden State, the message is clear: Year 2 is not being treated like a cute expansion encore. The Valkyries are chasing roster fit, depth, and wins, even when the move stings. For Martin, the message is just as clear. Her story has traveled from Edwardsville to Iowa, Las Vegas, and San Francisco, and it probably is not finished. “Money Martin” may be out of the Bay Area for now, but players like her tend to find another gym, another fanbase, and another reason to keep betting on them.
