WNBA Star Kate Martin Has Committed to WNBL Bendigo Spirit Pending League Approval
WNBA star Kate Martin has committed to the Bendigo Spirit as a rostered player filling in for Abbey Wehrung, pending League approval. Bendigo was in need of a replacement for the pregnant Abbey Wehrung. Kate, a former college teammate of Caitlin Clark at Iowa, has played with the WNBA’s Aces, Sparks and Valkyries.
The Bendigo Spirit announced that former Golden State Valkyries guard Kate Martin has committed to the club for the rest of the WNBL 27 Season, pending League approval. Martin spent the 2026 WNBA season with the Los Angeles Sparks and Chicago Sky but now she is Australia bound.
The WNBL has been great for helping develop WNBA players in the offseason. For instance, basketball fans have seen what the league has done for players such as Golden State Valkyries’ and 2026 WNBA champion Veronica Burton; plus athletes like Naz Hillmon and Han Xu. By providing more chances as well as circumstances for progress and growth.
The problem for Kate is that so far the W has not provided much opportunity as of late. To be efficient on the court all young players need reps. Martin has the motor and the tools to reach higher levels; so the WNBL will be great for her development.
Speaking of reps and opportunity, while in the WNBA Martin went from 16.4 minutes a night on the Valkyries’ expansion team to 7.7 this year in LA and Chicago. So then, heading to Bendigo makes sense. Kate will be their only import, filling in for Abbey Wehrung. Martin chose to skip the 3×3 Unrivaled league to get real five-on-five reps.
Martin spoke exclusively to ESPN on Tuesday and said she will arrive in Melbourne on Friday with her debut game yet to be announced. She mentioned what she hoped to accomplish by joining WNBL. She states,
“(I want) to get five-on-five playing experience and just with where I’m at in my career right now and the way this year in the WNBA went for me was a little up and down.
I honestly didn’t play a lot of five-on-five games so that was something I was really looking for this off-season and so this opportunity presenting itself was just perfect.
When I’m over in Australia, I want to work on getting back to loving basketball, having fun, enjoying the experience and the moment and sharpening my skillset of knocking down shots, working on my defence, making the right reads and just continuing to be the basketball player I am in the 5-on-5 setting.”
WNBA Star Kate Martin Has Committed to WNBL Bendigo Spirit Pending League Approval
As mentioned, many American basketball players have returned to the WNBA in recent years and broken out. Achieving individual accolades and team success. Martin hopes to be the next in a growing line.
Regarding such positive outcomes, Kate Martin says, “Seeing those players go to WNBL then have amazing seasons in the WNBA gives me a lot of confidence and is obviously part of the reason that I’m doing it. VB (Veronica Burton) is definitely a big inspiration in that aspect. She has nothing but amazing things to say about Bendigo, the fans, the team, the people, the coaches, everything and that gives me a lot of excitement to get out there.”
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