Overview
- LSU announced Monday that junior forward Kate Koval informed coach Kim Mulkey she will leave the program for personal reasons and the team asked that her privacy be respected.
- Koval, a 6'5 center born in Kyiv, averaged about 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in her lone season at LSU and was one of six returning players on the roster.
- The decision follows LSU’s signing of 17-year-old Russian post Anna Minaeva roughly 10 days earlier, a timing that several outlets have noted without any official link being confirmed.
- LSU staff are reported to be exploring short-term options to refill the frontcourt, including contacting former players recently awarded a fifth year of eligibility such as former LSU post Amiya Joyner.
- Some reporting has highlighted Koval’s family ties to Ukraine, including references to her father serving with Ukrainian forces, but LSU has not tied her departure to the broader Russia–Ukraine conflict.