Overview
- LSU announced that Kate Koval told coach Kim Mulkey she would leave the program for “personal reasons” after a conversation on Sunday and the team confirmed her exit on Monday.
- The move follows LSU’s signing of 17-year-old Russian center Anna Minaeva, a roster addition announced on Aug. 14 that LSU says it will keep in place.
- Mulkey said she spoke with Koval before recruiting Minaeva and that the program will respect Koval’s privacy while supporting her decision, but neither Koval nor LSU has tied the departure publicly to the Russian signing.
- Because the NCAA transfer portal is closed, Koval is unlikely to join another Division I team this season unless she obtains a special waiver, which makes her next playing opportunity uncertain until the portal reopens in spring.
- Koval’s exit deepens LSU’s frontcourt concerns for 2026–27 and shifts the program’s immediate options toward players already on the roster or returning former players granted extra eligibility by recent court rulings.