Kate Koval, whose father is a drone operator in the Ukrainian military, was expected to be LSU's starting center


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Kate Koval has left the LSU women's basketball program for "personal reasons," coach Kim Mulkey announced on Monday night. She was expected to be the starting center for the Tigers this upcoming season, but the Ukrainian-born player is leaving shortly after the program signed Russian freshman Anna Minaeva. Kovel's father, Oleksandr, is a drone operator for the Ukrainian military.

"Kate came to see me on Sunday and told me that after much consideration, she will be leaving the program for personal reasons," Mulkey said. "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."

Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and the two countries have been fighting a war ever since. Mulkey has been aware of how personal the situation is for Koval. Last year, the coach said the team had changed the name of their "Russian Rebounding Drill" to the "Ukraine Rebounding Drill" after a request from Koval.

While Mulkey did not confirm whether or not adding the Russian-born Minaeva was the reason for Koval's departure, she knew this could be an uncomfortable situation. Before LSU started recruiting Minaeva, Mulkey said she had a conversation with Koval about it.

"I want you to understand I'm not here to ask you to change how you feel about Russia," Mulkey recalls telling Koval, per Nola.com. "I'm just here out of respect for your family and out of respect for you to let you know. Because I know how personal it is for you.

"Know that what I have to do in this business, I cannot make a decision to not recruit somebody that can help our program because of a conflict between two countries."

Nola.com said LSU associate head coach Bob Starkey also sat down with Koval before recruiting Minaeva.

Reportedly, Mulkey hoped Koval and Minaeva could be "ambassadors" for kindship and suggested that "you never know" perhaps the two players as teammates could help end the war.

"And she just kind of smiled and said, 'I doubt that,'" Mulkey recounted.

Koval played for Notre Dame her freshman year before transferring to LSU. The 6-foot-5 center started in 17 games for the Tigers last season and averaged 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Koval still has two seasons of eligibility remaining, but since the transfer portal is not currently open, Koval will likely have to wait until April to join a new team.

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