LSU Women's Basketball Coach Kate Koval Announces Departure Amid Personal Reasons
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Kate Koval has left the LSU women's basketball program for "personal reasons," coach Kim Mulkey announced on Monday night. She was expected to be the starting center for the Tigers this upcoming season, but the Ukrainian-born player is leaving shortly after the program signed Russian freshman Anna Minaeva. Kovel's father, Oleksandr, is a drone operator for the Ukrainian military.
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Bleacher ReportLSU coach Kim Mulkey said Monday night that the 6-foot-5 Koval was leaving for "personal reasons," adding that the program will "respect her privacy on her decision."
Yahoo SportsCoach Kim Mulkey announced on Monday that Koval came to her the day before to quit the team "for personal reasons." A spokesperson for LSU tells Front Office Sports that Koval also has expressed her intention to withdraw as a student at the school.
The Guardian SportLSU coach Kim Mulkey said Monday night that Koval was leaving for “personal reasons”, adding that the program will “respect her privacy on her decision”.
ESPNKoval of Ukraine exits after LSU adds Russian big Ukrainian center Kate Koval is leaving LSU less than two weeks after the Tigers brought in a player from Russia.
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"We had a long talk about it, and it was a hard decision for her," Mulkey continued. "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."
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The Guardian Sport“We had a long talk about it, and it was a hard decision for her,” Mulkey continued. “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.”
Yahoo Sports"We will respect her privacy on her decision, but we had a long talk about it, and it was a hard decision for her," Mulkey said. "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."
CBS Sports"Kate came to see me on Sunday and told me that after much consideration, she will be leaving the program for personal reasons," Mulkey said. "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."
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“I want you to understand I’m not here to ask you to change how you feel about Russia,” Mulkey recalled telling Koval. “I’m just here out of respect for your family and out of respect for you to let you know. Because I know how personal it is for you. Know that what I have to do in this business, I cannot make a decision to not recruit somebody that can help our program because of a conflict between two countries.”
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CBS Sports"I want you to understand I'm not here to ask you to change how you feel about Russia," Mulkey recalls telling Koval, per Nola.com. "I'm just here out of respect for your family and out of respect for you to let you know. Because I know how personal it is for you.
Yahoo Sports"Know that what I have to do in this business, I cannot make a decision to not recruit somebody that can help our program because of a conflict between two countries," Mulkey told The Advocate she told Koval.
4 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 ESPN Luis cleared to play for LSU after signing NBA deals A Louisiana judge on Monday granted RJ Luis Jr., the 2025 Big East Player of the Year, a temporary injunction to play for LSU this season despite signing multiple NBA contracts.
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02 Yahoo Sports Koval's next steps are tricky, given the transfer portal is long closed, and classes have already started at many schools. She may need to transfer in April in order to find a new team.
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03 Bleacher Report LSU recently signed Anna Minaeva, a 6-5 post player who previously played professionally with MBA Moscow.
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04 CBS Sports Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and the two countries have been fighting a war ever since. Mulkey has been aware of how personal the situation is for Koval. Last year, the coach said the team had changed the name of their "Russian Rebounding Drill" to the "Ukraine Rebounding Drill" after a request from Koval.
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Sources (5)
- cbssports
- espn
- bleacherreport
- guardian-sport
- yahoosports