Kate Martin: Basketball Star, Her Girlfriend Claire Gransee, and Academic Excellence
Kate Marie Martin, born on June 5, 2000, is a celebrated American professional basketball player. Known for her time with the Iowa Hawkeyes and currently playing for the Golden State Valkyries of the WNBA and for the Breeze of Unrivaled, Martin has captured the hearts of fans with her skill and leadership. But beyond her achievements on the court, there's another fascinating aspect of her life that has garnered attention: her relationship with her girlfriend, Claire Gransee, and Claire's impressive academic record.
Kate Martin: From Illinois to Iowa Hawkeyes Legend
Kate Martin's journey to basketball stardom began in her hometown of Edwardsville, Illinois, where she attended Edwardsville High School. Growing up in Granite City and Edwardsville, Illinois, as the youngest of three children born to teachers Matt and Jill Martin, she started playing basketball at age five, participating in local recreational leagues and playing pickup at the YMCA. Martin's connection to the University of Iowa started early. Starting in elementary school, she frequented basketball camps at University of Iowa every summer and slept with an Iowa women's basketball poster above her childhood bed. Her father was one of her first coaches, coaching her and her siblings' basketball teams up until the seventh grade, as well as Martin's football team. In middle school, Martin began attending "Junior Hawk" and Iowa basketball camps every summer as a participant.
During her high school career, she continued to receive offers from Division I programs including DePaul, Illinois, St. Louis and Missouri State.
A Captain and Leader
Martin captained the Iowa Hawkeyes for four seasons, playing alongside two-time national player of the year, Caitlin Clark. Before the start of the 2021-22 college basketball season, Iowa head coach, Lisa Bluder, praised Martin's leadership as team captain and called her "The Glue" of their team. The nickname stuck with Iowa fans, and Bluder also continued to refer to Martin as "The Glue" throughout her collegiate career. In a 2022 post-game press conference Bluder said of Martin, "Kate's always been the glue-and people overlook Kate. She holds this team together.
Martin continued her tenure as team captain and started all 38 games for the Hawkeyes beside Clark for the third consecutive season. During a preseason practice in early November, Martin was elbowed in the face by a practice squad player and broke her nose for the third time in her college career. In the November 27 game against UConn, Martin scored a career-high 20 points, going 6-for-6 on three-pointers. On December 21, as her teammate Caitlin Clark, surpassed 2,000 career points, Martin registered a career-high 13 assists during Iowa's 92-54 win over Dartmouth. She recorded her 600th career point on January 7 in a win over Michigan. A few weeks later on January 23, Iowa gave No. 2 AP-ranked Ohio State their first loss of the season, with Martin recording her first double-double of the season (13 points and 11 rebounds).
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NCAA Tournament Highlights
For the 2024 NCAA tournament, the Hawkeyes were named a No. 1 seed (Iowa's first since 1992) in the Albany 2 regional and were ranked as the tournament's 2nd overall seed. In the first round, Iowa defeated Holy Cross 91-65 with Martin collecting a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds, despite taking a hard hit and smacking her head against the hardwood in the first half. In the second round and her final game on home court, Martin contributed seven points and ten rebounds in a 64-54 defeat of West Virginia, putting Iowa through to the Sweet Sixteen. Iowa continued to advance in the tournament and faced a rematch of their 2023 national championship game against LSU in the Elite Eight. Martin contributed 21 points and six rebounds in the 94-87 victory over the defending champs, punching Iowa's ticket to a second straight Final Four appearance and setting a program record of 33 wins in a single season. In the final minutes of the third quarter of Iowa's Final Four meeting with UConn, Martin was elbowed in the face by forward Aaliyah Edwards and left the court with a bloody nose. Martin returned in the fourth quarter unfazed, knocking down a turnaround jump shot and a driving layup in the final minutes to pull Iowa into a two-possession lead. Iowa bested UConn in a 71-69 win with Martin posting 11 points, eight rebounds, and two steals to seal Iowa's spot in the national championship game for the second year in a row. In the title game, the Iowa Hawkeyes faced the undefeated and No.
Transition to the WNBA
On May 13, 2024, Martin was named to the 2024 Las Vegas Aces roster, reuniting her with her former Hawkeye teammate, Megan Gustafson for the first time since 2019. Martin made her WNBA regular season debut on May 18, 2024, in a 89-82 home win against the Los Angeles Sparks, registering 3 points, three assists, five rebounds, and a block in 26 minutes played. On June 9, 2024, Martin made her first career start for the Aces against the Los Angeles Sparks, and contributed 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists in the Aces' 96-92 loss, going 5-for-7 on field goal attempts and 3-for-3 on three-pointers. Martin's playtime raised during a stretch where many Aces players struggled with injuries, with her ultimately appearing in 34 games, and later three minutes during a playoff game.
Claire Gransee: More Than Just a Girlfriend
Claire Gransee is a standout figure in her own right. As Kate Martin's girlfriend, she has captured the attention of fans, not only for her support of Kate but also for her impressive academic achievements.
Academic Prowess
Claire is a May 2024 Graduate with Distinction from The University of Iowa, majoring in Communication Studies alongside minors in both Law and Media Literacy. She boasts a GPA of 3.94, a testament to her dedication and intelligence. Balancing academics with the demands of being a supportive partner in a high-profile relationship is no small feat, but Claire handles it with grace.
Future Aspirations
With plans to relocate to the Greater Boston Area upon her graduation, Claire is eager to apply the skills she has gained from her coursework and professional experiences at The University of Iowa and The National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland. In her free time, she has found her role as a Director in The GH Foundation, an organization she is grateful to help found on our campus, extremely rewarding.
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The Couple: A Supportive Partnership
Being in a high-profile relationship means dealing with constant scrutiny and speculation from the public. Claire handles it with poise, never letting negativity affect her. Fans admire her dedication to her studies and her unwavering support for Kate's basketball career.
Martin's Background and Aspirations
Martin's father, Matt Martin, played college football at Western Illinois University. She has an older sister, Kennedy, who played basketball at Truman State, and an older brother, Trevor. Martin's maternal aunt, Julie Fitzpatrick, is married to Iowa head coach, Jan Jensen. Many of Martin's aunts and uncles are former college athletes: Julie Fitzpatrick played basketball for Drake (scoring over 1700 career points), Tom Fitzpatrick played football for Drake, Matt Fitzpatrick played basketball for St. Ambrose, and Pat Fitzpatrick played basketball for Eastern Illinois.
In May 2022, Martin completed her bachelor's degree in sports and recreation management at the University of Iowa. With the completion of her undergraduate degree, Martin began working on a Master of Arts degree in sports and recreation management at Iowa. In interviews before she was drafted by the Las Vegas Aces, Martin expressed her aspirations to coach basketball at the collegiate level. While in college at Iowa, she received numerous endorsements for her coaching aspiration and potential from Iowa teammates, Caitlin Clark and Monika Czinano, and was often called the "coach in the locker room". Martin also received high praise from Lisa Bluder, her head coach while playing at Iowa: "She's going to be an unbelievable coach. She is a tremendous leader of young women. She is able to hold people accountable…and she doesn't back down. Martin grew up and went to high school with NFL defensive end, A. J. Epenesa.
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