Kate Koval has left the LSU women’s basketball program for personal reasons, coach Kim Mulkey announced. The junior center from Kyiv, Ukraine, started 17 games last year and averaged 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds, leaving a major void in the Tigers’ frontcourt rotation ahead of the upcoming season.
LSU women’s basketball is reshaping its frontcourt rotation after junior center Kate Koval decided to leave the program for personal reasons, according to an announcement from head coach Kim Mulkey.
Kim Mulkey Confirms Koval Departure Following Sunday Meeting
Koval met with Mulkey on Sunday to share her decision to step away from the team. Mulkey addressed the roster shift in a statement released by the university.
“Kate came to see me on Sunday and told me that after much consideration, she will be leaving the program for personal reasons. 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.”
Kim Mulkey, LSU head coach
The departure halts a winding collegiate journey for the 6-foot-5 center. Originally rated as the nation’s No. 5 overall prospect in the Class of 2024 and the No. 1 post player by ESPN Hoopgurlz, Koval began her career at Notre Dame, where she appeared in 32 games with 10 starts, averaged 5.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.7 blocked shots, and recorded the fifth-highest block average in school history. She then entered the transfer portal and joined the Tigers in 2025 ahead of her sophomore season.
Had Koval stuck with the Tigers, she and 17-year-old freshman center Anna Minaeva of Russia would’ve become what was believed to be the first pair of Russian and Ukrainian athletes to share a locker room in women’s college basketball since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Koval’s father, Oleksandr, is part of the Ukrainian military. Mulkey told The Advocate in a recent interview that she talked to Koval before recruiting Minaeva and hoped the two players could become “ambassadors” for peace and kinship amid international conflict. Mulkey recalled telling Koval that she was not asking her to change how she felt about Russia, but wanted to reach out out of respect for her family and her.
Statistical Impact and Roster Implications for the Tigers
During her sophomore campaign in Baton Rouge, Koval provided the Lady Tigers with their lone low-post presence, starting in all 35 games. She averaged 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while shooting 56% from the field. Her defensive anchor was particularly pronounced around the rim, where she tallied 43 blocks—ranking second on the team and 10th nationally in that category. Koval also tripled her made free throws from her freshman to sophomore season, scored in double figures 14 times, and recorded seven double-doubles, including back-to-back games against Georgia Southern and Charlotte, and against Alcorn State and Marist, bringing her career total to nine. She additionally posted a career-high 23 points against Alabama State.
Without Koval, the low-post rotation features sophomore forward Grace Knox, 17-year-old freshman center Anna Minaeva, Spanish forward Noa Morro, and sophomore forward Meghan Yarnevich. Morro is a 6-3 sharpshooter with professional experience who spent the 2025-26 season with the Spanish club Kutxabank Araski, averaging 8.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 38% from 3-point range. Meanwhile, ZaKiyah Johnson, another sophomore who played in the post last year, had plans to spend most of the 2026-27 season as a guard—the position she played primarily in high school. The frontcourt was also set to feature two international signees. Former LSU forward Amiya Joyner initially exhausted her eligibility at the end of last season, but a recent Louisiana state court ruling paved the way for her and roughly 30 other athletes across all NCAA sports to rejoin the college ranks this school year, and Joyner entered the transfer portal on Friday.
Eligibility Rules and What Lies Ahead
Under NCAA rules, Koval is not allowed to join a new program for the 2026-27 season. If she sits out this year, she can enter the transfer portal when it opens in April to find a place where she can play her final two seasons of eligibility under the NCAA’s recently switched age-based eligibility model that allows athletes to play up to five seasons in five calendar years.
Meanwhile, the Tigers are set to begin the 2026-27 season on Nov. 2 in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, where they are expected to contend for the Southeastern Conference and make another deep run in the NCAA Tournament, led by senior guards Mikaylah Williams, MiLaysia Fulwiley, and Iowa State transfer Jada Williams.
