Koval decided to leave LSU after the Tigers signed a Russian teenager this summer



The NCAA has granted Kate Koval a waiver that will allow her to enter the transfer portal following her recent departure from LSU, per multiple reports. Although the transfer portal window for women's basketball closed in April, Koval will be able to play for a different team during the 2025-26 season. The 6-foot-5 center has at least two seasons of eligibility still remaining.

While Koval originally planned on staying with LSU, she decided to officially leave the team last month. At first it was announced that it was for "personal reasons, but on Sept. 2 she confirmed the reason was because LSU had signed a 17-year-old Russian post player Anna Minaeva. This created a difficult situation for Koval, who was born and raised in Ukraine -- a country currently at war with Russia. Koval and her family are extremely close to the situation since her father works as a drone operator for the Ukrainian military.

"My father serves in the Ukrainian military and takes tremendous pride in defending his country against Russian aggression," Koval explained on a social media post. "For me, this war is not distant or abstract. 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 has been playing basketball in the United States since 2021, when she left Ukraine to play at Long Island Lutheran High School in New York.

LSU head coach Kim Mulkey had a conversation with Koval when her staff was going to start recruiting Minaeva. She even suggested that they could be "ambassadors" for the two countries, but Koval was not comfortable with the situation and ultimately decided to leave.

Koval spent her freshman season at Notre Dame and made the ACC All-Freshman Team before transferring to LSU for the 2025-26 season. As a sophomore with the Tigers, she appeared in 35 games, 17 as a starter, and averaged 8.3 points on 56% shooting, 6.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks per contest. She was expected to be the starting center for Mulkey this season. Earlier this summer, Koval represented Ukraine in the 2026 FIBA 3x3 Women's World Cup and helped the native country advance to the quarterfinals.

The NCAA allows a maximum of 15 players on a Division I women's basketball roster, and Koval would be a welcome addition for any team still looking to add frontcourt depth. As college basketball programs already have practices underway, Koval's options will be limited since most rosters are completed. However, if her waiver had not been approved, she would have had to sacrifice a year of eligibility.

"This decision has not been easy. 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," Koval said on Instagram. "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 I made there."

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