Kate Martin's Emotional Message For Iowa Hawkeyes Is Going Viral

Kate Martin's rookie campaign with the Las Vegas Aces hit a major roadblock after the 6-foot guard suffered a nasty leg injury during their July 16 matchup against Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky. Thankfully, reports have indicated that Martin should be able to return to action this season after being diagnosed with a bruised Achilles.

Now that the WNBA season is on an Olympic break, Martin took the opportunity to head back to Iowa, where she spent five memorable seasons as a member of the Hawkeyes.

Iowa coach Jan Jensen asked Martin to share a few words in front of the team, to which the Aces rookie gladly obliged.

"I keep thinking, 'Why not just go all in?'" Martin said. "Our first Final Four we had a mantra, 'Why not us?' It's like, why not show up every single day and work your a** off and see what can happen?

Martin continued, "Have the mindset of 'Why not?'. Why can't you guys go back to a Final Four? Why can't you guys win the Big 10 Championship again? Why not? Don't put any limitations on who you can be and where you guys can go... [Expletive] it and go have fun."

The players on the squad intently listened to what Martin had to say, and her compelling message hit home.

As of writing, the video has already garnered close to 100,000 views after just three hours since it was posted. The reactions from the fans on X (formerly Twitter) have been overwhelming.

"Build the Kate Martin statue! Nobody represents the [Hawkeyes] better than her," commented a fan.

"You can go ahead and retire number 20 also. That’d be just fine with everybody," read one of the comments.

"Future head coach Kate Martin," predicted a supporter.

"Hell yeah, who would not be inspired by Kate 'Money' Martin. She’s just awesome," read another comment.

"She’s my hero," remarked a fan.

The viral speech looks to serve as an inspiration not only to the Iowa women's basketball team, but also to the hundreds of thousands of fans who have and will come across it.