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May 6, 2025; San Francisco, CA, USA; Golden State Valkyries guard Kate Martin (20) during the first quarter against the Los Angeles Sparks at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
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May 6, 2025; San Francisco, CA, USA; Golden State Valkyries guard Kate Martin (20) during the first quarter against the Los Angeles Sparks at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
Just days before final roster decisions, the Golden State Valkyries were forced to confront both certainty and uncertainty in the same breath. On one hand, the franchise continued trimming its roster ahead of the May 7 cut-down deadline. On the other hand, a bigger concern emerged. Kate Martin was ruled out with a Grade 2 quad strain. That injury could sideline her for 3 to 6 weeks.
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The Valkyries need to carry 12 players into the 2026 season, which is now just about a week away. Having entered training camp with 21 players, they have been whittling down the list in waves. And the latest player to receive that difficult news is former UConn guard Caroline Ducharme.
Ducharme’s WNBA career has been brief by any measure, having entered the league just this month as an undrafted free agent. Despite going undrafted, the Valkyries saw enough to offer her a training camp contract on April 15, 2026. She even appeared in one preseason game against the Seattle Storm. In fact, she recorded 3 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist in 7 minutes of play.
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In truth, Ducharme’s path to even getting that training ground opportunity never quite made the case for keeping her on a competitive roster. Her college career at UConn faced significant disruptions due to persistent head and neck injuries. Even when she did return for a redshirt senior campaign, she settled for a more limited depth role. However, the team claimed to have brought her in to evaluate her high-IQ fit within their offensive system and to address a temporary shortage of camp bodies caused by international commitments.
With those needs now met, the decision to release her was a practical one and very much expected. What the Valkyries didn’t expect, though, was Kate Martin‘s injury. Martin is a cornerstone of the Golden State setup. She’s a versatile, high-IQ guard and vocal leader who has a presence in the locker room and on the court. Losing her, even temporarily, is a blow to this Valkyries team.
With a three-to-six week timeline now attached to her recovery, Kate Martin will almost certainly miss the opening games of the regular season. The Valkyries announced on April 28 that there will be another formal re-evaluation on May 5. That will reveal whether her recovery is trending toward the shorter end of that window. Hopefully, the news on that date is encouraging, because the Golden State team will definitely prefer to have her back as soon as possible.
Kate Martin Remains Engaged With Team Despite Injury, Says Natalie Nakase
Despite the injury, Kate Martin has remained a fully engaged and present force within the Golden State Valkyries setup. She may not be on the court, but she has wasted no time in carving out a different kind of role, one that speaks just as loudly to the kind of leader she is.
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Las Vegas Aces guard Kate Martin (20) dribbles the ball against the LA Sparks in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
According to head coach Natalie Nakase, the message to Martin was clear: find another way to contribute. “I said, ‘Make sure you are going to be the energy monitor,'” Nakase revealed. And by her account, Martin took that charge and ran with it. “So today she was on top of it. She brings so much energy. So without Kate in it, she made sure she was on the sidelines, underneath in every huddle and constantly cheering her teammates on,” Nakase said.
It’s a transition that couldn’t have been easy. Martin was a consistent presence for the Valkyries last season, playing 42 games and averaging 6.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1 assist per game. Stepping back from that active role due to injury and watching from the sidelines is a different task entirely. But Nakase has been nothing but impressed by how Martin has handled it. “Kate knows, no matter if you have a little soreness or are banged up, you’re still here and present,” she said.
The Valkyries open their season against the Seattle Storm on May 8. And as things stand, Martin will not be available for that game, and possibly the one after. But for a team heading into the start of a new season, they can take genuine comfort in knowing that even without her on the floor, they won’t feel starved of her presence, support, and energy.
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Edited by
Snigdhaa Jaiswal