By KACE KIESCHNICK, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
Former LSU center Kate Koval confirmed on Wednesday that her decision to leave the women’s basketball program days before the start of classes last week was because coach Kim Mulkey had just signed Russian Anna Minaeva.
Koval addressed her departure in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
“This decision has not been easy,” Koval, a 6-foot-5 sophomore center for LSU last season, wrote. “While I understand and respect that roster decisions are a part of college basketball, I have to remain true to myself, my values and my country.”
LSU announced that Mulkey signed Minaeva, a 17-year-old 6-foot-5 center from Moscow, Russia, on Aug. 14, although Koval’s post indicates Mulkey planned to bring on Minaeva as of last April.
Koval, a native of Kyiv, Ukraine, said in the announcement that her father is a member of the Ukrainian military, and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has had a deeply personal impact on her and her family.
“For me, this war is not distant or abstract,” Koval said. “People close to me have been killed and wounded in Russian attacks, and places where I grew up and first began playing basketball have been destroyed by missile strikes.”
Koval averaged 8.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks in 35 games while shooting 56% from the floor last season after transferring from Notre Dame.
“I felt I had found a home at LSU, and I am incredibly grateful for my teammates who became family, as well as my coaches, staff, professors and the entire LSU community. I will always cherish the relationships, experiences and memories that I made there,” Koval wrote.
Mulkey and the team announced Koval’s departure with a statement issued on Aug. 24 – just 10 days after Minaeva officially signed.
“Kate came to see me and told me that after much consideration, she will be leaving the program for personal reasons,” Mulkey said in a statement at the time. “We will respect her privacy on her decision, but we had a long talk about it, and it was a hard decision for her. I know it is hard because she loves LSU. Kate is a great person. She has to do what she feels is right for her, and we fully support her in that. We all wish her the best.”
Koval was expected to start at center for LSU next season. The NCAA women’s basketball transfer portal closed in April and is typically only re-opened for coaching changes. If Koval wants to play in the 2026-27 season, she will have to ask the NCAA to make an exception for her unique and extraordinary circumstance – a war between her homeland Ukraine and bordering Russia.
Be the first to comment