NCAA grants Ukrainian Kate Koval transfer waiver following departure from LSU due to Russian teammate

The NCAA has granted Kate Koval a waiver that will allow her to enter the transfer portal following her recent departure from LSU, per multiple reports. Although the transfer portal window for women's basketball closed in April, Koval will be able to play for a different team during the 2025-26 season. The 6-foot-5 center has at least two seasons of eligibility still remaining.

While Koval originally planned on staying with LSU, she decided to officially leave the team last month. At first it was announced that it was for "personal reasons, but on Sept. 2 she confirmed the reason was because LSU had signed a 17-year-old Russian post player Anna Minaeva. This created a difficult situation for Koval, who was born and raised in Ukraine — a country currently at war with Russia. Koval and her family are extremely close to the situation since her father works as a drone operator for the Ukrainian military.

"My father serves in the Ukrainian military and takes tremendous pride in defending his country against Russian aggression," Koval explained on a social media post. "For me, this war is not distant or abstract. People close to me have been killed and wounded in Russian…

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/