Baylor women’s basketball announced Saturday that it has signed former LSU center Kate Koval.
Koval, a junior from Ukraine, left the Tigers on Aug. 23 after they signed a Russian player named Anna Minaeva. Koval, a 6-foot-5 center whose father is part of the Ukrainian military, said in a statement on Sept. 2 that LSU’s move had a “deeply personal effect on her” and that it made her “question whether LSU remained the right place for me.”
“While I understand and respect that roster decisions are a part of college basketball,” Koval said, “I have to remain true to myself, my values and my country.
“I felt I had found a home at LSU, and I am incredibly grateful for my teammates who became family, as well as my coaches, staff, professors and the entire LSU community. I will always cherish the relationships, experiences, and memories I made there.”
Koval, a former top-five national recruit out of high school, spent her freshman season at Notre Dame and her sophomore year at LSU. She was set to start at center for LSU in 2026-27 after she started 17 of 35 games that the Tigers played in 2025-26, averaging 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest while shooting 56% from the field.
NCAA rules do not allow players to transfer from one program to another outside of a transfer portal window, but Koval can play for the Bears this coming season because the NCAA granted her request for a waiver.
Coach Kim Mulkey told h on Aug. 17 that she talked to Koval before she started recruiting Minaeva, in part so she could relay her hope that the two players could become “ambassadors” for peace and kinship as teammates. Koval said in her statement that she didn’t learn that LSU was pursuing Minaeva until after the transfer portal had closed in April.
“I want you to understand I'm not here to ask you to change how you feel about Russia,” Mulkey said, recalling her conversation with 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.”
Last year, Baylor was a No. 6 NCAA Tournament seed that lost in the second round to No. 3 seed Duke. The Bears are beginning their sixth season under Nicki Collen, the coach who took over for Mulkey after she began her tenure at LSU.