LSU women’s basketball center Kate Koval is leaving the program less than two weeks after the Tigers signed 17-year-old Russian center Anna Minaeva. Multiple outlets report that LSU coach Kim Mulkey announced on Monday that Koval departs for “personal reasons,” and that the program will respect her privacy.
The timing is a focal point in coverage. Several reports describe Koval’s departure as following LSU’s recruitment of a Russian player, though Kyiv Post and others note that neither LSU nor Koval’s side publicly ties the decision directly to Minaeva’s signing. The Guardian and others also report Mulkey’s statement that the new recruits could serve as “ambassadors” for peace.
Fox News and some Ukrainian or Canada-based reporting add a personal context, citing that Koval’s father fights in the Ukrainian Army. Other summaries focus mainly on the brief duration of Koval’s second stint with LSU, while keeping the stated reason limited to personal matters and declining to speculate beyond available details.
