Ukrainian LSU Player Quits Over Signing of Russian Teammate, Seeks NCAA Waiver

Kate Koval, a Ukrainian junior center for LSU women's basketball, quit the team on August 23 after learning coach Kim Mulkey planned to sign 17-year-old Russian pro Anna Minaeva, according to reporting from Front Office Sports and CBS Sports. Koval learned of the signing in April, several days after the transfer portal had closed. LSU announced Minaeva's signing on August 14, nine days before Koval's departure. Koval was set to be the starting center for the Tigers this season. According to CBS Sports, the 6-foot-5 player spent her first season at Notre Dame before transferring to LSU last summer. Last season, she played in all 35 games for LSU and started 17, averaging 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds, per CBS Sports. She has two years of collegiate eligibility remaining. According to Front Office Sports reporting, Koval's father, Oleksandr, is a drone operator in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, which began in February 2022. On social media, Koval stated: "For me, this war is not distant or abstract. People close to me have been killed and wounded in Russian attacks, and places where I grew up and first began playing basketball have been destroyed by missile strikes." Koval quit the day before classes started. The NCAA forbids midyear basketball transfers from playing if they were enrolled at another school during the first semester, per Front Office Sports. Koval hopes the NCAA "recognizes the circumstances surrounding my situation and understands the seriousness and deep nature of this matter" and grants her the ability to sign with a different school for the upcoming 2026-27 basketball season, per CBS Sports. If the NCAA does not grant a waiver, she will have to miss the entire 2026-27 season and enter the portal next April, per CBS Sports. Even if granted a waiver, her options will be limited with most rosters already set this close to the start of the season. According to Front Office Sports, Mulkey told The Advocate: "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." According to CBS Sports, Mulkey visited Koval at her apartment complex and had a difficult conversation in a car in the parking lot before the signing. CBS Sports reports that Mulkey suggested to Koval that the two players could be "ambassadors" and might help end the war, to which Koval replied: "I doubt that." Multey's statement said: "Kate is a great person. She has to do what she feels is right for her, and we fully support her in that," per Front Office Sports.