BATON ROUGE, La. — Ukrainian center Kate Koval is departing from the LSU basketball program, a move coming just under two weeks after the Tigers recruited an athlete from Russia.
Kim Mulkey, the head coach for LSU, announced on Monday evening that the 6-foot-5 Koval is moving on due to “personal reasons,” emphasizing that the team intends to “respect her privacy on her decision.”
“We spoke at length regarding her choice, and it was a challenging path for her to take,” Mulkey remarked. “I recognize the difficulty because of her deep affection for LSU. Kate is an exceptional individual. She must pursue the path she believes is best for herself, and she has our complete backing. We all wish her nothing but success.”
Born in Kyiv, Koval competed for LSU during the previous season following her freshman campaign at Notre Dame. Her departure from the Tigers coincides with the recent addition of Anna Minaeva, a 6-foot-5 post player who previously competed on the professional circuit with MBA Moscow.
The ongoing war between the two nations began when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In an article published last week by The New Orleans Advocate, Mulkey shared that she conversed with Koval prior to recruiting Minaeva, expressing a hope that the pair might serve as “ambassadors” for their respective nations.
“I want to make it clear that I’m not asking you to alter your perspective on Russia,” Mulkey remembered explaining to Koval. “My only goal is to inform you out of respect for both you and your family, recognizing how deeply personal this matter is to you.”
However, Mulkey also indicated that geopolitical tensions would not prevent her from making decisions she feels benefit the LSU program.
“In my role, I cannot allow a conflict between nations to deter me from recruiting a player who has the potential to improve our program,” she noted.
Set to be a junior in the upcoming season, Koval recorded averages of 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for LSU last year, making 17 starts along the way.
Contributions to this article were provided by The Associated Press.
