Unexpected WNBA Star Joins Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese In Top 5 Of Jersey Sales

When fans talk about this year's WNBA rookie class, their minds typically automatically gravitate towards two certain stars: the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark, and the No. 7 pick by the Chicago Sky, Angel Reese.

They helped attract millions of viewers to the March Madness tournament during their college days and are currently doing so at the professional level in the WNBA. The most recent example of this was the fact that they made the WNBA All-Star team as rookies and were able to go up against Team USA in a game that racked up 3.44 million viewers on ABC, which was a 139% increase from the previous most-viewed WNBA matchup.

However, while they are clearly headed down a path where they will become the faces of the league if they already aren't, another rookie is right behind them in popularity—Las Vegas Aces guard and former Iowa teammate of Clark, Kate Martin.

On Tuesday, the top-selling jerseys of the first half of the WNBA season were revealed in a report by the Sports Business Journal . Topping the charts at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots were Clark and Reese, with veteran guard Sabrina Ionescu right behind them, and Martin behind her and ahead of her teammate and star player, A'ja Wilson.

For those unfamiliar with Martin's story, she showed up to the WNBA Draft to support Clark and ended up being drafted herself while sitting in the audience with the 18th pick in the second round by the Aces. It is a rarity for a rookie taken late in the WNBA Draft to stay on the team, but Martin managed to remain on the roster of the back-to-back champions.

Martin suffered an injury in the Aces' July 16 contest against the Chicago Sky, but according to recent comments made by her father, she is expected to return following what was determined to be a bruised Achilles.

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Related: Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever Beat Angel Reese Chicago Sky For Significant WNBA Record