Kate Martin released by Los Angeles Sparks, re-signs with Unrivaled

Former Iowa women's basketball star Kate Martin was waived over the weekend for the second time of the 2026 WNBA season.

The Los Angeles Sparks waived Martin and forward Alissa Pili on Saturday, Aug. 29, in a move to acquire Aaliyah Nye off waivers and sign Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda and later Shyanne Sellers to developmental deals. The team announced the transactions in social-media posts.

Los Angeles (15-25) signed Martin to a player-development contract on May 10 after the Golden State Valkyries waived her ahead of their 2026 season opener. Martin spent the 2025 season with the Valkyries after they selected her in the expansion draft from Las Vegas, which drafted her 18th overall in 2024.

Thank you, Kate Martin! pic.twitter.com/9tP61fUu1A

The 26-year-old scored a season-high 11 points for the Sparks in a loss to the Toronto Tempo on May 17. On July 6, the Sparks made Martin the first player in franchise history to be upgraded from the development pool to a standard WNBA contract.

However, Martin’s usage decreased significantly after she played 17 minutes against Seattle on July 6. She played five minutes or fewer in each of her next four appearances before not playing in several games in August due to the coach's decisions. Her final appearance came Aug. 20, when she played four minutes in Los Angeles’ 124-88 loss to the Atlanta Dream.

Martin ended up playing 17 games with the Sparks, averaging 2.3 points per game.

On the same day the Sparks announced they were waiving Martin, Unrivaled Basketball revealed that she'd re-signed to play in the 3-on-3 league in 2027.

Kate Martin is Unrivaled 👑
Kate returns for season three on a multi-year deal.
Presented by @Allypic.twitter.com/0ED6c4Q1xq

Unrivaled was founded by WNBA All-Stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier in 2024.

Martin averaged 6.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game across 13 regular-season games with Breeze BC in the 2026 Unrivaled season. She played in six games for Unrivaled in 2025 as a member of the Laces, averaging 8.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per contest. 

The Unrivaled team Martin will play for in 2027 has not been announced yet. The league is expected to begin its third season in January 2027.

USA TODAY sports reporter Callie Fin contributed to this report.

Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.

This article originally appeared on Hawk Central: Kate Martin released by Los Angeles Sparks, re-signs with Unrivaled